Mercury-contact switching with gap-closing microcantilever

Scott Saffer; Jonathan Simon; Chang-Jin Kim; Kyung Ho Park; Jong-Hyun Lee

doi:10.1117/12.250705

17 September 1996 Mercury-contact switching with gap-closing microcantilever

Scott Saffer, Jonathan Simon, Chang-Jin Kim, Kyung Ho Park, Jong-Hyun Lee

Proceedings Volume 2882, Micromachined Devices and Components II; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.250705
Event: Micromachining and Microfabrication '96, 1996, Austin, TX, United States

Abstract

We present an electrostatically actuated micro-mechanical relay with a stationary mercury micro-drop at the point of contact. The moving element is 2 micrometers thick polysilicon cantilever with widths from 2 to 3 micrometers and lengths from 300 to 500 micrometers made through MCNC multi-user MEMS processes. A technique to selectively form microscale mercury on prescribed sites was used to accomplish mercury- to-electrode contacts for the relays. Measurements of the poly-mercury-poly contact resistance resulted in values that range from 800 to 1000 (Omega) , with most values near 1000 (Omega) . The total resistance of the devices varied from 1.9 k(Omega) to 3.2 k(Omega) depending on the device configuration. The device can switch loads over 10 mA.

Citation Download Citation

Scott Saffer, Jonathan Simon, Chang-Jin Kim, Kyung Ho Park, and Jong-Hyun Lee "Mercury-contact switching with gap-closing microcantilever", Proc. SPIE 2882, Micromachined Devices and Components II, (17 September 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.250705

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