Submicron three-terminal SiGe-based electromechanical ohmic relay

Author

Ramezani, Mahdi ; Cosemans, S. ; De Coster, J. ; Rottenberg, Xavier ; Rochus, Veronique ; Osman, Haitham ; Tilmans, Harrie A. C. ; Severi, Simone ; De Meyer, K.

Author_Institution

Imec, Leuven, Belgium

fYear

2014

fDate

26-30 Jan. 2014

Firstpage

1095

Lastpage

1098

Abstract

This paper demonstrates functional NEM cantilever relays fabricated in a CMOS-compatible low-T (400°C) CVD SiGe process flow. Devices with a length in the micrometer range (<;3μm), a width in the range 0.2-1μm, a thickness and a gap of below 100nm were successfully fabricated and characterized. A high on/off current ratio (of better than 10⁸:1), a subthreshold swing (S) better than 150μV/decade and “essentially zero” off-state leakage current were experimentally observed. A life time of minimum 10³ switching cycles was demonstrated. A maximum current density of around 10μA/μm² without causing stiction due to Joule-heating was found.

Keywords

CMOS integrated circuits; Ge-Si alloys; cantilevers; chemical vapour deposition; leakage currents; microrelays; nanoelectromechanical devices; CMOS-compatible low-T process; CVD SiGe process; Joule-heating; NEM cantilever relays; SiGe; electromechanical ohmic relay; essentially zero off-state leakage current; maximum current density; size 0.2 mum to 1 mum; submicron three-terminal SiGe; subthreshold swing; temperature 400 C; CMOS integrated circuits; Current measurement; Hysteresis; Relays; Reliability; Silicon germanium; Voltage measurement;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2014 IEEE 27th International Conference on

Conference_Location

San Francisco, CA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.2014.6765836

Filename

6765836