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