The effects of three-dimensional shaping of vertically aligned carbon-nanotube contacts for micro-electro-mechanical switches

A micro-electro-mechanical switch integrated with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the contact material is presented. Arrays of the CNTs are three-dimensionally micropatterned using a pulsed micro-discharge process to have tapered contact surfaces with controlled angles, achieving maxim...

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Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2013-12, Vol.103 (23)
Hauptverfasser: Dahmardeh, Masoud, Vahdani Moghaddam, Mehran, Hian Tee, Min, Nojeh, Alireza, Takahata, Kenichi
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A micro-electro-mechanical switch integrated with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the contact material is presented. Arrays of the CNTs are three-dimensionally micropatterned using a pulsed micro-discharge process to have tapered contact surfaces with controlled angles, achieving maximized contact areas, while providing contact resistances in the 10 Ω range with an enhanced current capacity. A shape-memory-alloy actuator is integrated to demonstrate stable switching for ∼1.4 × 106 ON-OFF cycles with no sign of damage. The results prove that post-growth micropatterning of CNTs is a promising path to improved and reliable micro contact switches enabled by arrayed CNT contacts for high-power applications.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4844695