Power-level electrical switch enabled by a liquid-metal bridge
Power-level electrical switch enabled by a liquid-metal bridge
Soft electronic components possess the potential to be developed into next-generation electrical devices that can provide superior performance to solid-state counterparts. Among commonly used components, electrical switches are an essential control element in electrical and electronic systems. Both solid-state mechanical and semiconductor switches are blamed for some intrinsic shortcomings. For example, the former suffers from contact surface degradation, while the latter functions with a high conduction loss. To overcome the limitations, here, a liquid metal (LM)-enabled electrical switch is reported by incorporating a Galinstan liquid bridge into a pair of solid electrodes. The electrical switch operation is realized by the coalescence of LM droplets and the breakup of the LM bridge. Extraordinarily, the device is capable of interrupting a DC 220 V, 1-5 A circuit within 11 ms, outperforming a common mechanical switch by a factor of 4-20 in terms of interruption speed. During the breakup process of an LM bridge in the presence of a current, three regimes characterized by electrical arc behaviors are identified and investigated. The rupture distance formed before pinch-off is critical to regulate the arc plasma behaviors. The presented applications and discoveries have a vast potential in both practical technologies, involving high-current electrical and electronic equipment, and fundamental research fields relevant to soft electronics, fluid mechanics, and plasma science.
electrical switch, Galinstan, liquid bridge, liquid metal, soft electrical components
2859-2868
Zhu, Xiaonan
17a1241a-c80a-417e-b353-2f434ce75461
Yang, Fei
b472f050-c248-49ba-bde1-f3c92ca4a6de
Wang, Haoran
a56f4491-b951-4d58-9c02-8ec6902470d7
Zhao, Siyuan
f990ae4f-df99-4f7a-97c6-dbf867ad1b02
Wu, Yi
9ee1023a-7e89-4260-9030-5c8b9fb2e1d8
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Rong, Mingzhe
437b2520-ce38-4c5f-bda2-d5b9b59bc7ce
28 June 2022
Zhu, Xiaonan
17a1241a-c80a-417e-b353-2f434ce75461
Yang, Fei
b472f050-c248-49ba-bde1-f3c92ca4a6de
Wang, Haoran
a56f4491-b951-4d58-9c02-8ec6902470d7
Zhao, Siyuan
f990ae4f-df99-4f7a-97c6-dbf867ad1b02
Wu, Yi
9ee1023a-7e89-4260-9030-5c8b9fb2e1d8
Tang, Shi Yang
1d0f15c6-2a3e-4bad-a3d8-fc267db93ed4
Rong, Mingzhe
437b2520-ce38-4c5f-bda2-d5b9b59bc7ce
Zhu, Xiaonan, Yang, Fei, Wang, Haoran, Zhao, Siyuan, Wu, Yi, Tang, Shi Yang and Rong, Mingzhe
(2022)
Power-level electrical switch enabled by a liquid-metal bridge.
ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 4 (6), .
(doi:10.1021/acsaelm.2c00352).
Abstract
Soft electronic components possess the potential to be developed into next-generation electrical devices that can provide superior performance to solid-state counterparts. Among commonly used components, electrical switches are an essential control element in electrical and electronic systems. Both solid-state mechanical and semiconductor switches are blamed for some intrinsic shortcomings. For example, the former suffers from contact surface degradation, while the latter functions with a high conduction loss. To overcome the limitations, here, a liquid metal (LM)-enabled electrical switch is reported by incorporating a Galinstan liquid bridge into a pair of solid electrodes. The electrical switch operation is realized by the coalescence of LM droplets and the breakup of the LM bridge. Extraordinarily, the device is capable of interrupting a DC 220 V, 1-5 A circuit within 11 ms, outperforming a common mechanical switch by a factor of 4-20 in terms of interruption speed. During the breakup process of an LM bridge in the presence of a current, three regimes characterized by electrical arc behaviors are identified and investigated. The rupture distance formed before pinch-off is critical to regulate the arc plasma behaviors. The presented applications and discoveries have a vast potential in both practical technologies, involving high-current electrical and electronic equipment, and fundamental research fields relevant to soft electronics, fluid mechanics, and plasma science.
Text
acsaelm.2c00352
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More information
Published date: 28 June 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation under nos. U1966602 and 52077172; the Research Program of Shaanxi Province under no. 2019ZDLGY18-05; and the Shaanxi Province “Sanqin scholars” innovation team project (Demonstration innovation team of XJTU for the key technology of advanced DC power equipment and its industrialization).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Chemical Society.
Keywords:
electrical switch, Galinstan, liquid bridge, liquid metal, soft electrical components
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 481922
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481922
PURE UUID: 731fe73d-20cf-4bed-b342-9438e144ec25
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Date deposited: 13 Sep 2023 17:09
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:13
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Contributors
Author:
Xiaonan Zhu
Author:
Fei Yang
Author:
Haoran Wang
Author:
Siyuan Zhao
Author:
Shi Yang Tang
Author:
Mingzhe Rong
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