Contact adhesive force (F a ) scaling is critical for relay miniaturization, since the actuation area and/or actuation voltage must be sufficiently large to overcome the spring restoring force (F k ) in order to turn on the relay and F k must be larger than F a in order to turn off the relay. In this work, contact adhesive force is investigated in MEM logic relays with contact dimple regions as small as 100 nm in lateral dimension. The results indicate that van der Waals force is predominant. An adhesive force of 0.02 nN/nm 2 is extracted for tungsten-to-tungsten contact. F a reduction should be possible with contact dimple size reduction and contact surface coating.[
2013-0057]Index Terms-MEM relay, stiction, adhesive force, pull-in mode.
Micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) relays are an intriguing alternative to transistors for ultra-low-power digital logic applications [1]. This paper investigates various failure modes for logic relays. Experimental results are presented to show that structural fatigue, dielectric charging, and contact stiction are not reliability-limiting issues. Contact resistance instability caused by surface oxidation and contamination is the primary challenge, and can be influenced by device design and operating conditions.
A relatively thin structural film with low strain gradient is developed for micro-relay technology. Relays fabricated using this film as the structural material operate with relatively low pull-in voltage and hysteresis, which is desirable for achieving low-power and high-endurance relay integrated circuits. With the improved structural film, relays with scaled layout dimensions are demonstrated for the first time.
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