Micro-Contacts with 3-D Surfaces Made with Grayscale Lithography
Abstract
The aim of this research is to design and fabricate micro-contacts with three-dimensional surfaces using grayscale lithography. The goal was to create devices that have stable resistances within the ballistic electron transport region. These devices were designed to restrict current to smaller areas to take advantage of micro-contact physics. The micro-contact designs were created with a factorial design to determine factors that are significant to operating within the ballistic region and maintaining a stable contact resistance. The contacts were tested in a test stand filled with nitrogen that uses a piezoelectric actuator to cycle the devices with an applied signal for a specified number of cycles. The contact resistance and the force were recorded at certain points during testing. Testing revealed that certain micro-contacts with three-dimensional surfaces fit into the ballistic electron transport model for 1 million cycles. After testing, the micro-contacts were inspected using a Scanning Electron Microscope to determine the presence of failure mechanisms.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 21, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1075825
Entities
People
- Paul L. Michaud
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology