Fabrication of a nanoelectromechanical bistable switch using directed assembly of SWCNTs

As CMOS scaling limit is reached, no-charge based devices and non-equilibrium systems need to be investigated as alternative switching units. We present a non-volatile nanoelectromechanical switch with state variable mechanical positioning of a single-walled CNT bundle suspended over metal electrodes deposited in dry-etched trenches. The switch is fabricated using a single mask fabrication process followed by dielectrophoresis-based directed assembly of the CNT bundle. The design exhibits symmetric behavior with the same actuation voltage (<5 V) for both ON and OFF states. A coarse grain model is used to investigate the effect of the slack of the assembled CNT bundle over the shoulder of the trench, CNT bundle diameter, surface interaction between the CNT bundle and the underlying substrate, and the actuation voltage on the operational dynamics of these devices. (letter)