High-power MEMS switch enabled by carbon-nanotube contact and shape-memory-alloy actuator
A forest of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is integrated as an electrical contact material with a high-power, normally-open switch based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. A shape-memory-alloy (SMA) cantilever is thermally actuated to enable switching between the...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley-VCH Verlag
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/30324/1/SMA_Cantilever_Switch.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/30324/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pssa.201228678/abstract |
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| Summary: | A forest of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is
integrated as an electrical contact material with a high-power,
normally-open switch based on micro-electro-mechanical
systems (MEMS) technology. A shape-memory-alloy (SMA)
cantilever is thermally actuated to enable switching between the
movable CNT forest and the copper electrode formed on the
SMA. The out-of-plane SMA actuator provides high forces to
enable distributed contacts with the CNT forest, achieving low
contact resistances and high ON/OFF resistance ratios. The ON
state of the switch shows contact resistances as low as 35Vwith
a dependence on the operating current. The device operation is
performed with over 5-W input powers. Long-term operation
with more than 1�106 switching cycles is demonstrated. The
results indicate that a combination of the CNT-based contact
and the SMA actuator may be a promising path to realizing
reliable MEMS contact switches for high-power applications. |
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