Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T04:43:42.735Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Critical Process Issues in the Fabrication of a Lateral, Self-cleaning, MEMS Switch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Yong Shi  and
Sang-Gook Kim
Yong Shi
Affiliation:
Mechanical Engineering Department, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07032, USA
Sang-Gook Kim
Affiliation:
Micro and Nano Systems Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Get access

Abstract

A lateral contact MEMS switch was developed to address the needs for long life cycle, low contact resistance and low cost switches. The device is unique in its self-cleaning of particles, self-alignment of contact surfaces and the mechanical anchoring of the contact metal into the switch structures. The major issue for the lateral contact device fabrication is the creation of the vertical Au sidewall. Existing physical and chemical vapor deposition methods are found not satisfactory. The final Au sidewalls for electric contact are formed by electroplating in pre-patterned photoresist mold. SEM pictures show that the designed undulated contact surfaces are created successfully, and the surface of the electroplated Au is much smoother and denser than that by e-beam evaporation. The long lifecycle test shows that the contact resistance has been maintained below 0.1 Ω over 1010 cycles. The test results of the fabricated switch have proved the self-cleaning concept and opened the possibility of direct contact MEMS switch for high power and low cost RF applications.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 872: Symposium J – Micro- and Nanosystems—Materials and Devices , 2005 , J19.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1] Rebeiz, G.M., Muldavin, J. B., 2001, “RF MEMS switches and switch circuits,” IEEE Microwave magazine Google Scholar
[2]Petersen, K. E., “Micromechancal membrane switches on silicon, IBM J. Res, Dev. 23, 376–85, 1979 Google Scholar
[3] Majumder, S. et al., “Measurement and modeling of surface micromachined, electrostatically actuated micro-switches,” Proc. IEEE Transducers'97, pp1145–1148 Google Scholar
[4] Wang, Y., et al, “Low-voltage lateral-contact microrelays for RF applications,” IEEE, 2002 Google Scholar
[5] Goldsmith, C. et al, “Micromechanical membrane switches for microwave applications,” Tech Digest, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Symp. pp 91–4, 1995 Google Scholar
[6] Qiu, J., et al, “A high-current electrothermal bistable MEMS relay,” MEMS'03Google Scholar
[7] Ruan, M. et al, “Latching micro magnetic relays with multistrip permalloy cantilevers,” MEMS'01 224–227 Google Scholar
[8] Niezrecki, C., Brei, D., Balakrishnan, S., and Moskalik, A 2001, “Piezoelectric Actuation: State of the Art,” Shock and Vib. Digest, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 269–280.Google Scholar
[9] Suh, N. P., 1990, “The principles of design” Oxford, New York,Google Scholar
[10] Suh, N. P., 1986, “Tribophysics”, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey Google Scholar
[11] Suh, N. P., Saka, N., 1987, “Surface engineering”, Annals of CIRP, 36/1, p. 403.Google Scholar
[12] Voldman, J., “A microfabricated dielectrophoretic trapping array for cell-based biological assays,” MIT Thesis E.E. 2001 Ph. DGoogle Scholar