COMPOSITE POLYSILICON-PLATINUM LATERAL NANOELECTROMECHANICAL RELAYS

Abstract

This paper reports the fabrication and performance of laterally actuated, polysilicon-platinum composite nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relays. Laterally actuated relays are defined in a single lithography step, enabling symmetric electrode and beam structures. The platinum coating serves as the conducting contact material and can also provide a local routing layer. Decoupling mechanical and electrical properties of the NEM relay allows independent optimization of each property. The NEM relays exhibited less than 3k contact resistance and can operate for 10 8 cycles in room ambient.