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Carbon-Based Nano-Electro-Mechanical-SystemsWe provide an overview of our work where carbon-based nanostructures have been applied to two-dimensional (2D) planar and three-dimensional (3D) vertically-oriented nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) switches. In the first configuration, laterally oriented single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) synthesized using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were implemented for forming bridge-type 2D NEMS switches, where switching voltages were on the order of a few volts. In the second configuration, vertically oriented carbon nanofibers (CNFs) synthesized using plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD have been explored for their potential application in 3D NEMS. We have performed nanomechanical measurements on such vertically oriented tubes using nanoindentation to determine the mechanical properties of the CNFs. Electrostatic switching was demonstrated in the CNFs synthesized on refractory metallic nitride substrates, where a nanoprobe was used as the actuating electrode inside a scanning-electron-microscope. The switching voltages were determined to be in the tens of volts range and van der Waals interactions at these length scales appeared significant, suggesting such structures are promising for nonvolatile memory applications. A finite element model was also developed to determine a theoretical pull-in voltage which was compared to experimental results.
Document ID
20150006075
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Kaul, A. B.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Khan, A. R.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Megerian, K. G.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Epp, L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
LeDuc, G.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Bagge, L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Jennings, A. T.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Jang, D.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Greer, J. R.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
April 22, 2015
Publication Date
April 25, 2011
Subject Category
Mechanical Engineering
Meeting Information
Meeting: SPIE DSS, Micro-and Nanotechnologies for Defense, Space and Security
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: April 25, 2011
End Date: April 29, 2011
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS)
single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs)

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