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Volatile And Non-Volatile Nanoelectromechancial Switches With Ruthenium-Enhanced Nano Contacts
KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Intelligent systems, Micro and Nanosystems. (MST)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6811-590X
KTH, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Intelligent systems, Micro and Nanosystems.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4867-0391
Univeristy of Bristol, U.K.
Univeristy of Bristol, U.K.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1724-4880
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2025 (English)In: 2025 23rd International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (Transducers), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , 2025, p. 2098-2101Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches havepromising applications as volatile or non-volatileelectronic switching elements in areas such as low-powerlogic, memory, and reconfigurable circuits. However, thereliability of nano-scale contacts in NEM switches remainsa major challenge. While ruthenium (Ru) has beensuccessfully used for micro-scale contacts in radiofrequency (RF) MEMS switches with relatively largedimensions, Ru has not been explored as contact coating inNEM switches. Here, we investigate and demonstrate theeffectiveness of Ru-coated nano-contacts in silicon NEMswitches, enabling both volatile and non-volatile switchingof NEM switches fabricated within the same NEM devicelayer. These findings have the potential to advance NEMswitch technology for low-power and reconfigurablecomputing applications.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , 2025. p. 2098-2101
National Category
Nanotechnology for Electronic Applications
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-373122DOI: 10.1109/Transducers61432.2025.11110616ISI: 001600364100530Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105030286149OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-373122DiVA, id: diva2:2014924
Conference
Transducers 2025 Orlando, FLORIDA, USA, 29 June - 3 July, 2025
Note

QC 20260226

Available from: 2025-11-19 Created: 2025-11-19 Last updated: 2026-05-28Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Advances in Nanoelectromechanical Switch Integration: From Device-Level Fabrication to Circuit-Level Implementation
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Advances in Nanoelectromechanical Switch Integration: From Device-Level Fabrication to Circuit-Level Implementation
2026 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The rapid growth of data-intensive applications such as edge computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things is pushing the limits of conventional CMOS electronics. In these systems, static leakage currents increasingly dominate power consumption. Nanoelectro-mechanical (NEM) switches are promising candidates for beyond-CMOS electronics due to their near-zero off-state leakage, abrupt switching characteristics, and robustness under extreme operating conditions, offering a route to dramatically reduce static power dissipation in future integrated circuits. However, practical NEM-based systems require scalable device architectures, reliable switch contacts, and CMOS-compatible integration strategies. This thesis addresses these challenges through the realization and integration of a CMOS-compatible NEM switch device library within commercial CMOS foundry platforms. The work investigates three complementary NEM switch architectures for logic and memory applications: a volatile three-terminal (3-T) switch, a volatile four-terminal (4-T) switch with decoupled actuation and signal paths, and a non-volatile seventerminal (7-T) switch. Building upon concepts established in earlier research within our group, the 3-T and 7-T devices are miniaturized and optimized through systematic studies of beam geometry and contact materials for low-voltage operation and improved switching behavior. A major contribution of this thesis is the optimization and experimental realization of the 4-T architecture, enabling body-bias-assisted reduction of the pull-in voltage and advanced circuit configurations. Two CMOS-compatible integration approaches are developed and experimentally validated: (1) Monolithic integration within the IMEC iSiPP50G silicon photonics SOI foundry platform, and (2) heterogeneous 3-D integration within the X-FAB XI10 SOI CMOS process. The first method enabled co-fabrication of all three NEM switch architectures on a single commercial foundry chip for the first time. Electrical characterization confirms volatile switching in the 3-T and 4-T devices, pull-in voltage reduction in the 4-T switch through body biasing, and both volatile and nonvolatile operation in the 7-T switch through contact engineering. However, in this approach, circuit scalability is limited by routing density inherent to planar integration, while Au contact stiction constrains switch reliability. The second approach addresses these limitations by vertically integrating the NEM device layer above the completed back-end-of-line (BEOL) through heterogeneously 3-D integration. This architecture alleviates routing constraints and improves device reliability using Ruthenium (Ru) switch contacts. Ru-coated devices demonstrate substantially improved cycling endurance, and a complementary inverter implemented with Ru-coated 3-T switches validates the feasibility of functional BEOL-integrated NEM circuits.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2026. p. 161
Series
TRITA-EECS-AVL ; 2026:51
Keywords
Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches, CMOS foundry integration, nonvolatile memory, contact reliability, wafer bonding, beyond-CMOS logic circuits
National Category
Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
Research subject
Electrical Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-382596 (URN)978-91-8106-616-6 (ISBN)
Public defence
2026-08-19, F3, Lindstedtvägen 26, Stockholm, 15:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020, 871740EU, Horizon 2020, 101092018
Note

QC 20260602

Available from: 2026-06-02 Created: 2026-05-28 Last updated: 2026-06-16Bibliographically approved

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Li, YingyingBleiker, Simon J.Kumar Kulsreshath, MukeshNiklaus, Frank

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