High-power MEMS switch enabled by carbon-nanotube contact and shape-memory-alloy actuator

Dahmardeh, Masoud and Mohamed Ali, Mohamed Sultan and Saleh, Tanveer and Min Hian, Tee and Moghaddam, Mehran Vahdani and Nojeh, Alireza and Takahata, Kenichi (2013) High-power MEMS switch enabled by carbon-nanotube contact and shape-memory-alloy actuator. Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials, 210 (4). pp. 631-638. ISSN 1862-6300

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	6808/30324
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Actuators, Carbon nanotubes, Microelectromechanical systems, Shape-memory alloys, Switches
Subjects:	T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery > TJ212 Control engineering
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Engineering > Department of Mechatronics Engineering
Depositing User:	Dr. Tanveer Saleh CEng MIMechE
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2013 12:04
Last Modified:	28 Aug 2013 12:46
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/30324

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