In a paper published in the Nature Nanotechnology journal, a research team from the Northwestern University has been reviewing the progress made in the development of nanoelectromechanical (NEM) devices in the past 10 years.
Professor Mr. Horacio Espinosa
The review also discusses about the potential of NEM technologies and their major challenges in detail. Northwestern University’s professor, Horacio Espinosa informed that a NEM switch comprises a nanostructure like a nanowire or carbon nanotube that encounters mechanical deflection when electrostatic forces are applied to make or avoid contact with an electrode.
NEM switches can be engineered to work like a silicon transistor. They can be utilized in both standalone NEM devices and hybrid NEM-silicon devices. They consume ultralow power and can withstand radiation exposure and high temperatures.
Building arrays of numerous nanostructures to make NEM devices is one of the longstanding challenges. In the paper, Espinosa’s team described the techniques to build these arrays and the possibility of mass-production of hybrid NEM-CMOS devices. The review also discussed the reasons for the failure of NEM devices and ways to handle these failures in detail. Moreover, in a report published in the Advanced Materials journal, the research team explained the significance of novel materials and their role in the improvement of both standalone NEM and hybrid NEM-CMOS devices in detail.
The research team increased the number of cycles the NEM devices can operate by using electrodes composed of conductive diamond-like carbon films in place of metal electrodes. This simple but efficient method may help realize the full potential of the NEM devices.
The research published in Advanced Materials was a collaborative work between Argonne National Laboratories’ Center for Nanoscale Materials, Sandia National Laboratories’ Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, and Northwestern University.