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Laterally actuated polycrystalline silicon nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relays with enhanced electrical properties are presented. Due to surface oxidation of polysilicon in room ambient conditions, the relays have a high contact resistance (> 1 GΩ) that requires high drain bias (3-5 V) to break through. The addition of a platinum sidewall coating reduces the on-resistance and the required drain bias to as low as 3 kΩ and 0.1 V, respectively. The platinum coating's stability is demonstrated by two tests: first, a contact-and-hold test where the relay passes current (~1μA) for up to 155 min and, second, a hot cycling test where the relay survives for over 108cycles . The NEMS relays are simulated using finite-element analysis, and the models are verified against experimental tests. Furthermore, the relays are configured and tested as a 2 : 1 multiplexer to show their potential as a digital logic component.

This paper reports the fabrication and performance of laterally actuated, polysilicon-platinum composite nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relays. Laterally actuated relays are defined in a single lithography step, enabling symmetric electrode and beam structures. The platinum coating serves as the conducting contact material and can also provide a local routing layer. Decoupling mechanical and electrical properties of the NEM relay allows independent optimization of each property. The NEM relays exhibited less than 3kΩ contact resistance and can operate for 10 8 cycles in room ambient.