Abstract
Emerging applications such as the Internet-of-Things and more-electric aircraft require electronics with integrated data storage that can operate in extreme temperatures with high energy efficiency. As transistor leakage current increases with temperature, nanoelectromechanical relays have emerged as a promising alternative. However, a reliable and scalable non-volatile relay that retains its state when powered off has not been demonstrated. Part of the challenge is electromechanical pull-in instability, causing the beam to snap in after traversing a section of the airgap. Here we demonstrate an electrostatically actuated nanoelectromechanical relay that eliminates electromechanical pull-in instability without restricting the dynamic range of motion. It has several advantages over conventional electrostatic relays, including low actuation voltages without extreme reduction in critical dimensions and near constant actuation airgap while the device moves, for improved electrostatic control. With this nanoelectromechanical relay we demonstrate the first high-temperature non-volatile relay operation, with over 40 non-volatile cycles at 200 ∘C.
Highlights
Emerging applications such as the Internet-of-Things and more-electric aircraft require electronics with integrated data storage that can operate in extreme temperatures with high energy efficiency
A near constant actuation airgap is maintained throughout relay operation, eliminating the electromechanical stability issues in conventional electrostatic actuation schemes
Our proposed NEM relay consists of a semicircular beam that rotates in plane, and is actuated by applying a potential between the beam and a pair of gates
Summary
Emerging applications such as the Internet-of-Things and more-electric aircraft require electronics with integrated data storage that can operate in extreme temperatures with high energy efficiency. We demonstrate an electrostatically actuated nanoelectromechanical relay that eliminates electromechanical pull-in instability without restricting the dynamic range of motion It has several advantages over conventional electrostatic relays, including low actuation voltages without extreme reduction in critical dimensions and near constant actuation airgap while the device moves, for improved electrostatic control. We demonstrate data retention over more than 6 months, the highest number of reprogramming cycles to date under any environmental conditions, actuation voltages as low as 1.6 V with a 120 nm actuation airgap, and provide a comprehensive model for the moment-driven movement and non-volatile operation of the relay These results demonstrate the potential of the reported NEM relays to realise high-temperature capable, reprogrammable non-volatile memory
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