Microcontact Support Structure Fabrication to Study Microswitches Reliability and Performance Using a Novel Test Fixture

Mahanta, Protap Kumar; Nandy, Turja; Coutu, Ronald A.

doi:10.1109/hlm54538.2022.9969780

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Micromachines 2024, 15, 597 2 of 12 Another test fixture was assembled for overcoming the above issues. But this test fixture faced many hardware and software issues, and ultimately, Mahanta et al failed to collect any usable experimental data to validate the fixture's suitability for testing microcontacts or microswitches [17]. In addition, gold (Au) is the most common microcontact material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Test Fixture for Collecting Microcontact Performance and Reliability Data

Nandy,

Coutu,

Mahbub

2024

Micromachines

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Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) ohmic contact switches are considered to be a promising candidate for wireless communication applications. The longevity of MEMS switches is directly related to the reliability and performance of microcontacts. In this work, an improved microcontact test fixture with high actuation rates (KHz) and highly precise position control (nm) and force (nN) control was developed. Here, we collected microcontact performance data from initial contact tests (ICT) and microcontact reliability data from cold switched tests (CST). To perform these tests with our test fixture, we fabricated MEMS microcontact test structures with relatively high Young’s modulus electroplated Nickel (Ni)-based, fixed–fixed beam structure with Au/RuO2 bimetallic microcontacts. These structures were characterized for forces ranging from 200–1000 µN in ICT tests. In a CST test, the tested microcontact survived more than 200 million cycles at a 1 KHz cycle rate, with a stable contact resistance value ranging between 3.8–5.2 Ω. These experiments validate the potentiality of our microcontact test fixture, and will facilitate further investigation on advanced microcontacts to enhance the MEMS switch’s reliability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%