Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches offer zero leakage current and abrupt switching, ideal for energy-efficient digital circuits in extreme environments.
• Commercial viability of NEM switches is hindered by challenges in reliable fabrication and large-scale integration within existing semiconductor foundries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the integration of silicon (Si) NEM switches using a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) foundry platform.
• To overcome manufacturing barriers for high-density, high-performance NEM-based logic circuits and non-volatile memories.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the iSiPP50G commercial SOI foundry platform with sub-200 nm lithography.
• Implemented two types of monolithic Si NEM switches: a 3-terminal (3-T) volatile switch and a 7-terminal (7-T) bi-stable switch.
• Investigated switch behavior (volatile/non-volatile) based on contact design.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated monolithically integrated Si NEM switches on a commercial SOI platform.
• Achieved a low actuation voltage of 5.6 V for the 3-T NEM switch.
• Demonstrated both volatile and non-volatile switching characteristics in the 7-T NEM switch.

Conclusions:

• Established CMOS-compatible SOI foundry processes can be leveraged for scalable manufacturing of Si NEM switches.
• This work removes a significant barrier towards the commercialization of high-density NEM-based programmable logic and non-volatile memory devices.