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Reliable nanoswitch operation requires low contact voltages and stable electrical contact resistance (ECR). Surface cleanliness is crucial to prevent nanomechanical switch failure, which can occur due to the presence of insulating adventitious hydrocarbon films. In situ O2 plasma cleaning is effective but oxidizes metal surfaces. Here, the noble metal Pt, which forms PtOx, is employed to form electrodes. Previous studies report on PtOx electrical resistivity, but the effects of PtOx evolution at contacting interfaces due to electrical and mechanical stimuli have not been explored. This study investigates the impact of PtOx on ECR at low contact voltages under hot switching, cold switching, and mechanical cycling conditions. An increase in ECR upon plasma cleaning indicates the presence of a resistive PtOx layer. After hot and cold switch cycling at applied voltages of 300 mV or less, a low stable ECR is achieved. A higher contact voltage accelerates ECR stabilization. The results are consistent with PtOx film volatilization, which is primarily due to Joule heating rather than mechanical rupture. This investigation advances the understanding of interface evolution in plasma-cleaned nanoswitches. 

This paper reports a phenomenon occurring between phase change material (PCM) germanium telluride (GeTe) and a thin encapsulation layer of alumina when the PCM undergoes the phase transformation, consistent with dewetting of the PCM from the surrounding alumina. Massive structural change, including formation of large voids, which take up to 21.9% of the initial GeTe volume after 10 000 phase change cycles is observed. Electrical and mechanical characterization of the structure confirms this interpretation. A rapid thermal annealing test of blanket films on alumina that demonstrates dewetting further validates this conjecture. The dewetting and associated gross material displacement can lead to an extraordinary actuation corresponding to a one-time 44 nm height change for a 178 nm GeTe thick layer. However, control of this phenomenon is required to build reliable actuators that do not suffer from rupture of the encapsulation layer. 

Abstract The behavior of materials in sliding contact is challenging to determine since the interface is normally hidden from view. Using a custom microfabricated device, we conduct in situ, ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscope measurements of crystalline silver nanocontacts under combined tension and shear, permitting simultaneous observation of contact forces and contact width. While silver classically exhibits substantial sliding-induced plastic junction growth, the nanocontacts exhibit only limited plastic deformation despite high applied stresses. This difference arises from the nanocontacts’ high strength, as we find the von Mises stresses at yield points approach the ideal strength of silver. We attribute this to the nanocontacts’ nearly defect-free nature and small size. The contacts also separate unstably, with pull-off forces well below classical predictions for rupture under pure tension. This strongly indicates that shearing reduces nanoscale pull-off forces, predicted theoretically at the continuum level, but not directly observed before.