Nanoelectromechanical relays with decoupled electrode and suspension

Parsa, Roozbeh; Shavezipur, Mohammad; Lee, W.S.; Chong, Soogine; Lee, D.; Wong, H.-S. Philip; Maboudian, Roya; Howe, Roger T.

doi:10.1109/memsys.2011.5734687

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This may improve if the testing is done under vacuum encapsulation which is viable at packaging level and may prove valuable to such devices [10]. Other alternative solution like contact enhance coating like Au, Pt, and RuO 2 may solve this issue but the fabrication of such small device will be extremely challenging [11], [12]. The on-off current ratio of 10 5 is demonstrated with 100-μA current compliance as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Experiments Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bistable Electrostatic Silicon Nanofin Relay for Nonvolatile Memory Application

Soon

Singh

et al. 2013

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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We present a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay that is capable of demonstrating two stable states without on-hold power due to the influence of van der Waals force. This is realized by leveraging a silicon nanofin (SiNF) as a relay that can switch between two lateral terminals. The smallest dimension of the SiNF is 80-nm width by 2-μm length. The SiNF is able to maintain its geometrical position even after the bias voltage is turned off. Bistable hysteresis behavior with pull-in voltage (V PI ) and reset voltage (V RESET ) as low as 8.4 and 10.1 V is measured. The nanoscale footprint of this device shows great potential for high-density nonvolatile memory applications.[ 2013-0109]Index Terms-Nanoelectromechanical systems, relay, switch, van der Waals, nonvolatile memory, Bistable, electrostatic. I. IntroductionThe ever quest in CMOS scaling has expanded the exploration boundary beyond conventional transistor, listing from quantum devices, ultrathin body silicon on insulator (SOI), fin-FET, and so on. Most devices leverage on the transportation of electrons or the same to determine the on-off criteria [1], [2]. Until recently, nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay has drawn great attention due to its exceptional properties. NEM relay is a physically actuated nanoscale mechanical switch that does not rely on transportation or storage of charges. Instead, NEM relay relies on mechanical switching motion and geometrical shape to replicate logic operation in transistor and solid state nonvolatile memory (NVM) and its advantages include extremely low off-state leakage current, steep sub-threshold slopes, and capability of high temperature operation [3]- [5]. It is already reported that the NEMS relay can complement CMOS circuits resulting in faster operation and erasing speed [6], [7]. Besides that, reports suggest that the NEM switches can overcome poor performance usually at the extremes of temperature because of their mechanical switching nature

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Section: Experiments Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bistable Electrostatic Silicon Nanofin Relay for Nonvolatile Memory Application

Soon

Singh

et al. 2013

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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“…Two subsequent articles published by the same group at Stanford mainly focused on device fabrication. The first one [52] shows the design and the fabrication process for a planar laterally actuated poly-Si relay with Pt as the contact electrode material. Two proof-of-concept devices, simple cantilever or double-clamped beam structures, were reported with actuation voltage Vact > 12.5 V (Vpo > 3 V) and Vact > 26 V (Vpo > 19 V).…”

Section: "In-plane" Actuation Relaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoelectromechanical Switches for Low-Power Digital Computing

Peschot¹,

Qian²,

Liu³

2015

Micromachines

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Abstract:The need for more energy-efficient solid-state switches beyond complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors has become a major concern as the power consumption of electronic integrated circuits (ICs) steadily increases with technology scaling. Nano-Electro-Mechanical (NEM) relays control current flow by nanometer-scale motion to make or break physical contact between electrodes, and offer advantages over transistors for low-power digital logic applications: virtually zero leakage current for negligible static power consumption; the ability to operate with very small voltage signals for low dynamic power consumption; and robustness against harsh environments such as extreme temperatures. Therefore, NEM logic switches (relays) have been investigated by several research groups during the past decade. Circuit simulations calibrated to experimental data indicate that scaled relay technology can overcome the energy-efficiency limit of CMOS technology. This paper reviews recent progress toward this goal, providing an overview of the different relay designs and experimental results achieved by various research groups, as well as of relay-based IC design principles. Remaining challenges for realizing the promise of nano-mechanical computing, and ongoing efforts to address these, are discussed.

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“…To improve the contact between the beam and drain upon actuation, sidewall coating steps can be added to the process between step 2e and 2f [6,8]. To establish a good contact between the sidewall coating material and the top of polysilicon electrodes, two options are available prior to applying the sidewall coating steps: (1) After step 2e, the remaining multi-spacer and buffer are directionally etched, which will slightly etch the top of polysilicon layer; (2) After step 2e, a photolithographic step is applied to open regions for accessing the top of polysilicon electrodes.…”

Section: Figure 4: Sems Of In-plane Piston Electrostatic Actuator Witmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Any designs of lateral electrostatic actuators fall into one of the two categories: (1) coupled springs and movable electrodes, (2) decoupled springs and movable electrodes [8]. As illustrated in two representative examples in Figure 3 and 4, any designs of lateral electrostatic actuators can be fully covered in the four-mask spacer processes [7, this work].…”

Section: Mask Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-spacer technique for low-voltage, high-aspect-ratio lateral electrostatic actuators

Lee

Mitra

Howe

et al. 2011

2011 16th International Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference

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This paper presents low-voltage, high-aspect-ratio scaled lateral electrostatic actuators based on a four-mask multi-spacer process. The set of TEOS spacers, polysilicon hardmask, and buffer LTO layer is chosen as masking materials, resulting in a multi-spacer of LTO-TEOS and a stack of LTO-polysilicon hardmask. These mask sets with a photoresist mask are then transferred to an underlying polysilicon layer, creating high-aspect-ratio (>5:1) polysilicon structures with sublithographic beam width and gap size. Two types of scaled actuators have been successfully designed and actuated with more than an order of magnitude reduction in actuation voltage compared to the regular process: coupled and decoupled designs of springs and movable electrodes.

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Nanoelectromechanical relays with decoupled electrode and suspension

Cited by 30 publications

References 7 publications

A Bistable Electrostatic Silicon Nanofin Relay for Nonvolatile Memory Application

A Bistable Electrostatic Silicon Nanofin Relay for Nonvolatile Memory Application

Nanoelectromechanical Switches for Low-Power Digital Computing

Multi-spacer technique for low-voltage, high-aspect-ratio lateral electrostatic actuators

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