Micromechanical device with gold alloy contacts and method of manufacture

摘要

A MEMS switch device is made using a gold alloy as the switch contact material. The increased mechanical hardness of the alloy compared to the pure gold prevents the contacts of the switch from welding together. A scrubbing action which occurs when the switch closes may allow the contact surfaces to come to rest where their surfaces are complementary, thus resulting in higher contact area and low contact resistance, despite the higher sheet resistance of the gold alloy material relative to the pure gold material.