Creation of a Voltage-Actuated Switch for MEMS using a Piezoresistive Polymer Composite

One of the major obstacles in the path of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) development is the production of reliable and flexible circuit elements. A voltage-controlled switch is a critical circuit element that would be both invaluable and fundamental to all future MEMS. Although past research by the Organic and Nanostructured Electronics (ONE) lab has delivered promising results in this field, there are problems with repeatability and scalability that must be understood and overcome. Piezoresistive polymer composites, which have already been used in various sensor devices due to their combination of impressive mechanical and electrical properties, seem to be the perfect material for these voltage-controlled switches. The specific composite used in this work is composed of nickel microparticles dispersed in a PDMS matrix. The first goal is to optimize the composite material system for factors such as filler dispersion, Young’s modulus, and resistance drop. The composite will then be used to fabricate a working switch prototype and integrate it into an electrical circuit.