Low force electrical switching using gold coated vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes surfaces

Gold coated vertically aligned multi-walled carbon-nanotubes (Au/MWCNT) surfaces are investigated to determine the electrical contact performance under low force conditions with repeated load cycling. The multi-walled CNT's are synthesized on silicon planar and sputter coated with a gold film. These planar surfaces are mounted on the tip of a PZT actuator and mated with a coated Au hemispherical probe. The load is typical of MEMs devices, with a 4V supply, 1 and 10mA current, and applied force of 1mN. The contact resistance (Rc) is monitored with the repeated loading cycles (over 1000 and a million cycle) to determine reliability and durability testing. The surfaces are compared with a reference Au-Au contact under the same experimental conditions. This study shows the potential for the application of CNT surfaces as an interface in low force electrical contact applications

Gold coated carbon nanotube surfaces as low force electrical contacts for MEMS devices: part 1

An experimental investigation of a gold coated vertically aligned carbon nanotube surfaces is undertaken to determine the limits of the electrical contact performance over a large number of switching cycles under low force conditions and with current loading (1mA-50mA at 4V). The multi-walled CNT’s (MWCNT’s) are synthesized on a silicon planar and sputter coated with a gold film. The planar surfaces are mounted on the tip of a PZT actuator and mated with a coated Au hemispherical probe. The electrical load is selected to reflect typical MEMs relay loads with a 4V supply, 1 and 10mA current load with an applied force of 1mN. The surfaces tested maintain a stable contact resistance over 106 switching cycles. To determine the limits, the contact force is increased to 3mN under dry circuit conditions and the current increased at the 1mN load to 20mA-50mA. The surfaces are compared with a reference Au-Au contact under the same experimental conditions. For the surfaces investigated the current loading limit was determined to be 20mA where the contacts failed after 50x106 cycles

Learning through 'prosuming': Insights from media literacy programmes in Asia

10.1177/097172180801300205Science, Technology and Society132259-27

The relationship between contact resistance and contact force on Au coated carbon nanotube surfaces under low force conditions

Carbon-Nanotube (CNT) coated surfaces are investigated to determine theelectrical contact performance under low force conditions. The surfaces under investigationare vertically aligned multi-walled CNTs formed on a Silicon substrate and coated with anAu film. These planar surfaces are mated with a hemispherical Au plated probe mounted ina nano-indentation apparatus. The maximum contact force used is 1mN. The contactresistance of these surfaces is investigated as a function of the applied force and is alsostudied under repeated loading cycles. The surfaces are compared with a reference Au-Aucontact under the same experimental conditions and the results compared to establishedcontact theory. The results show that the vertically aligned multi-walled CNT surfaceprovides a stable contact resistance. This study shows the potential for the application ofCNT surfaces as an interface in low force electrical contact applications

Improving the contact resistance at low force using gold coated carbon nanotube surfaces

Investigations to determine the electrical contact performance under repeated load cycles at low force conditions for carbonnanotube (CNT) coated surfaces were performed. The surfaces under investigation consisted of multi-walled CNT synthesized on a silicon substrate and coated with a gold film. These planar surfaces were mounted on the tip of a PZT cantilever and contacted with a hemispherical Au plated probe. The dynamic applied force used was 1mN. The contact resistance (Rc) of these surfaces was investigated with the applied force and with repeated loading cycles performed for stability testing. The surfaces were compared with a reference Au-Au contact under the same experimental conditions. This initial study shows the potential for the application of gold coated CNT surfaces as an interface in low force electrical contact applications

65 SCARLET AND GRAY BOOKLETS

Author Institution: Department of Physics, The Ohio State University; Columbus, Ohio 43210Video requires RealPlayer or Microsoft Silverlight to view.Delving into the archives, and drawing on the experiences of various spectroscopists, several questions will be addressed, including: What has changed since the first meeting? What has not changed since the first meeting? How did this meeting spawn not only one, but two similar meetings in Europe? How has international participation evolved over the years? How has female participation evolved? And why do we keep coming back