Electromechanical and adhesion issues in contact-mode MEMS devices

Changes in surface topography, composition, and electromechanical properties during operation of contact-mode microdevices may impact the reliability and performance. Therefore, basic understanding of the physical processes affecting adhesion, electrical characteristics, and wear behavior of polycrystalline silicon is of great importance to the design of durable and efficient microdevices with contact interfaces. The main objective of this paper is to address some critical electromechanical and adhesion issues, such as oxide layer stressing and breakdown at the contact interface and seizure of microdevice movement due to excessive adhesion, in light of results revealing the evolution of electrical contact behavior and adhesion force with the applied contact voltage and impact or sliding contact cycles.