Abstract
Metal insulator transition (MIT) materials, or phase change materials (PCM) are material compounds that have the ability to be either conductors or insulators. Vanadium dioxide (VO2) and germanium telluride (GeTe) exhibit such a transition property. These materials have ferroelectric properties as well as a variable resistivity. The ability to vary the resistance of a single material is useful when designing integrated circuits on the micro scale. By varying the temperature or the electric field across these materials, we are able to change the resistivity within a portion of a line. This can in turn be used to create a switch within a wire. In order to measure these changing properties, we developed novel surface micromachined test structures capable of using a variety of MIT materials. By varying the electric field or the thermal gradient across an area of the wire segment, we were able to adjust the resistivity of the material. Therefore, by tailoring the properties of specific portions of a conductor, we were able to control current flow in a circuit without needing a micro-mechanical or a microelectronic device.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Givernaud J, Champeaux C, Catherinot A, Pothier A, Blondy P, Crunteanu A (2008) Tunable band stop filters based on metal-insulator transition in vanadium dioxide thin films. Presented at 2008 IEEE MTT-S international microwave symposium digest, Atlanta
Bouyge D, Crunteanu A, Orlianges JC, Passerieux D, Champeaux C, Catherinot A, Velez A, Bonache J, Martin F, Blondy P (2009) Reconfigurable bandpass filter based on split ring resonators and vanadium dioxide (VO2) microwave switches. Presented at Asia-Pacific microwave conference 2009 (APMC 2009), Singapore
Crunteanu A, Dumas-Bouchiat F, Champeaux C, Catherinot A, Pofhier A, Blondy P (2007) Microwave switching functions using reversible metal-insulator transition (MIT) in VO2 thin films. Presented at European microwave conference, 2007, Germany
Cavalleri A, Tόth C, Siders CW, Squier JA, Ráksi F, Forget P, Kieffer JC (2001) Femtosecond structural dynamics in VO2 during an ultrafast solid-solid phase transition. Phys Rev Lett 87(23):237401
Schilbe P, Maurer D (2004) Lattice dynamics in VO2 near the metal-insulator transition. Mater Sci Eng A 370(1–2):449–452
Dumas-Bouchiat F, Champeaux C, Catherinot A, Crunteanu A, Blondy P (2007) Rf-microwave switches based on reversible semiconductor–metal transition of VO2 thin films synthesized by pulsed-laser deposition. Appl Phys Lett 91(22):223505
Di Ventra M, Pershin YV (2011) Memory materials: a unifying description. Mater Today 14(12):584–591
Chen M, Rubin KA, Barton RW (1986) Compound materials for reversible, phase-change optical data storage. Appl Phys Lett 49(9):502
Lelmini D, Lacaita AL (2011) Phase change materials in non-volatile storage. Mater Today 14(12):600–607
Stotz M, Fritze S, Downar H, Wenger J (1999) Thermally controlled coplanar microwave switches. Presented at 29th European microwave conference, vol 2, Munich, 5–7 Oct 1999
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the AFIT cleanroom technicians, Mr. Rich Johnston and Mr. Tom Stephenson, for their support in the fabrication of these devices.
Disclaimer The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 The Society for Experimental Mechanics
About this paper
Cite this paper
Danner, B.L., Coutu, R.A. (2013). Characterizing Metal Insulator Transition (MIT) Materials for Use as Micro-Switch Elements. In: Shaw, G., Prorok, B., Starman, L. (eds) MEMS and Nanotechnology, Volume 6. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4436-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4436-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4435-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4436-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)