The influence of opening velocity profile on the duration of molten metal bridge for gold coated contacts in a low power (<100 mW) MEMS contact testing platform

Bull, T.G., McBride, J.W. and Yang, Y. (2024) The influence of opening velocity profile on the duration of molten metal bridge for gold coated contacts in a low power (<100 mW) MEMS contact testing platform. In 2024 IEEE 69th Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts (HOLM). IEEE. 6 pp . (doi:10.1109/HOLM56222.2024.10768447).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

A novel test system, referred as the in-situ contact evolution (ICE) apparatus, is used to study low force (<1 mN) Au coated electrical contact surfaces, with the application of both cold and hot switching (<100 mW). The lower surface used is a compliant Au coated carbon nanotube composite, and the upper surface is a rigid Au coated hemisphere. The contact separation velocity is varied to model the opening process of an electrostatically actuated cantilever. The results show the duration and energy of the molten bridge phenomenon is reduced as contact opening velocity exceeds around 1.6 mm per second, reducing contact material transfer and increasing contact lifetime.

Text

Holm 2024 - Paper 57 - Bull - Accepted Manuscript

Restricted to Repository staff only until 3 December 2026.

Available under License University of Southampton Accepted Manuscript Licence.

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