MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Contact resistance in flat thin films

Author(s)
Lang, Jeffrey H.; Read, Melissa B.; Martens, R.; Slocum, Alexander H.
Thumbnail
DownloadRead-2009-Contact resistance in flat thin films.pdf (286.8Kb)
PUBLISHER_POLICY

Publisher Policy

Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.

Terms of use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
MEMS-fabricated electrical contacts are commonly used in MEMS relays. These electrical contacts can be as simple as two flat surfaces coming into contact [1]. Modeling their contact force/resistance relationship can be difficult because much of the theory on contact resistance was developed for macro-scale contacts [2], and contact properties for MEMS-scale contacts do not always agree with those predicted by this theory [3]. One contribution to this disagreement is that when the dimensions of the contact thickness are on the order of the a-spot dimensions, the spreading resistance is affected [4]. In order to determine the relationship between contact force and resistance for a wide range of parameters, we have developed a two-coupon test system which allows the properties of these contacts to be empirically determined. The design of the two-coupon system allows for the rapid fabrication of multiple contact materials and geometries. The two-coupon system was used to test the contact resistance properties of sputtered and electroplated Au films in thicknesses of 0.1 μm, 0.3 μm, and 0.5 μm. Contact force was measured using a custom flexural force gauge and the 4-point contact resistance was measured using an integrated Kelvin Structure [5]. The results are compared to traditional Holm theory to determine the effects of film thickness on spreading resistance.
Date issued
2009-10
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60268
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Journal
Proceedings of the 55th IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts, 2009
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Citation
Read, M. B. et al. “Contact Resistance in Flat Thin Films.” Electrical Contacts, 2009 Proceedings of the 55th IEEE Holm Conference on. 2009. 303-309. ©2009 IEEE.
Version: Final published version
ISBN
978-1-4244-3613-2

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.