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The influence of Circuit Parameters on Molten Bridge Surface Degradation in a Au/MWCNT MEMS Switch Contact

The influence of Circuit Parameters on Molten Bridge Surface Degradation in a Au/MWCNT MEMS Switch Contact
The influence of Circuit Parameters on Molten Bridge Surface Degradation in a Au/MWCNT MEMS Switch Contact

The influence of circuit parameters on an Ohmic (metal-metal contact) MEMS (microelectromechanical system) switch contact pair are investigated under hot-switching (carrying current) circuit conditions below the arcing-threshold. A novel MEMS relay testing platform is used to investigate microscale contact surface change between individual switching events. The contact materials are a composite contact material of vertically-aligned carbon-nanotubes with a metallic (Au) layer, paired with an Au-coated ball contact. The evolution of the contact surface is evaluated along with the energy associated with the molten-metal bridge (MMB) phenomena. Circuit voltage is varied between 4 and 8 V DC and current between 20 and 50 mA to determine their influence on surface degradation. Two modes of voltage transient are observed. The first has been linked to the formation of a MMB and the second to a delamination event (DE) where the contacts separate with no MMB apparent. Results are presented on the relative likelihood of the DE or the MMB events occurring. After 100k cycles at switching conditions of 4V, 20 mA the contact surface demonstrates negligible wear. Increasing the current (4 V, 50 mA) or the voltage (8 V, 20 mA) both increase the average energy associated with opening and the contact wear. The increase in MMB energy and wear with supply voltage is unexpected and is discussed.

Contact wear., Hot switching, Low current switching, MEMS switching
359-365
IEEE
Bull, Thomas G.
f3f00de4-1bfa-42c4-b957-dbd95a1a9aa2
McBride, John W.
d9429c29-9361-4747-9ba3-376297cb8770
Jiang, Liudi
374f2414-51f0-418f-a316-e7db0d6dc4d1
Bull, Thomas G.
f3f00de4-1bfa-42c4-b957-dbd95a1a9aa2
McBride, John W.
d9429c29-9361-4747-9ba3-376297cb8770
Jiang, Liudi
374f2414-51f0-418f-a316-e7db0d6dc4d1

Bull, Thomas G., McBride, John W. and Jiang, Liudi (2019) The influence of Circuit Parameters on Molten Bridge Surface Degradation in a Au/MWCNT MEMS Switch Contact. In Electrical Contacts - 2018, Proceedings of the 64th IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts, Holm 2018. vol. 2018-October, IEEE. pp. 359-365 . (doi:10.1109/HOLM.2018.8611757).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

The influence of circuit parameters on an Ohmic (metal-metal contact) MEMS (microelectromechanical system) switch contact pair are investigated under hot-switching (carrying current) circuit conditions below the arcing-threshold. A novel MEMS relay testing platform is used to investigate microscale contact surface change between individual switching events. The contact materials are a composite contact material of vertically-aligned carbon-nanotubes with a metallic (Au) layer, paired with an Au-coated ball contact. The evolution of the contact surface is evaluated along with the energy associated with the molten-metal bridge (MMB) phenomena. Circuit voltage is varied between 4 and 8 V DC and current between 20 and 50 mA to determine their influence on surface degradation. Two modes of voltage transient are observed. The first has been linked to the formation of a MMB and the second to a delamination event (DE) where the contacts separate with no MMB apparent. Results are presented on the relative likelihood of the DE or the MMB events occurring. After 100k cycles at switching conditions of 4V, 20 mA the contact surface demonstrates negligible wear. Increasing the current (4 V, 50 mA) or the voltage (8 V, 20 mA) both increase the average energy associated with opening and the contact wear. The increase in MMB energy and wear with supply voltage is unexpected and is discussed.

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More information

Published date: 14 January 2019
Venue - Dates: 64th IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts, Holm 2018, , Albuquerque, United States, 2018-10-14 - 2018-10-18
Keywords: Contact wear., Hot switching, Low current switching, MEMS switching

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 430057
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/430057
PURE UUID: 8ff55931-8c9a-4f0b-8a6f-003589c6a01b
ORCID for John W. McBride: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3024-0326
ORCID for Liudi Jiang: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3400-825X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Apr 2019 16:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:02

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Contributors

Author: Thomas G. Bull
Author: John W. McBride ORCID iD
Author: Liudi Jiang ORCID iD

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