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Air Bridge and Vertical Carbon Nanotube Switches for High Performance Switching Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Anupama B Kaul ,
Eric W Wong ,
Larry Epp ,
Michael J. Bronikowski  and
Brian D Hunt
Anupama B Kaul
Affiliation:
anu.kaul@jpl.nasa.gov, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Microwave Systems Section, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, United States, 818-393-7186
Eric W Wong
Affiliation:
eric.wong@jpl.nasa.gov, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, United States
Larry Epp
Affiliation:
larry.epp@jpl.nasa.gov, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, United States
Michael J. Bronikowski
Affiliation:
michael. bronikowski@jpl.nasa.gov, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, United States
Brian D Hunt
Affiliation:
brian.hunt@jpl.nasa.gov, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, United States
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Abstract

Carbon nanotubes are attractive for switching applications since electrostatically-actuated CNT switches have low actuation voltages and power requirements, while allowing GHz switching speeds that stem from the inherently high elastic modulus and low mass of the CNT. Our first NEM structure, the air-bridge switch, consists of suspended single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) that lie above a sputtered Nb electrode. Electrical measurements of these air-bridge devices show well-defined ON and OFF states as a dc bias of a few volts is applied. The switches were measured to have switching times down to a few nanoseconds. Our second NEM structure, the vertical CNT switch, consists of nanotubes grown perpendicular to the substrate. Vertical multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) are grown directly on a heavily doped Si substrate, from 200 − 300 nm wide, ∼ 1 μm deep nano-pockets, with Nb metal electrodes to result in the formation of a vertical single-pole-double-throw CNT switch architecture.

Keywords

nanoscaledevicesmicroelectro-mechanical (MEMS)
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 924: Symposium Z – Mechanics of Nanoscale Materials and Devices , 2006 , 0924-Z06-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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