1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a switching device and, more particularly, to a nanowire electronmechanical device with an improved structure that can prevent burning of two nanowires caused by their being switched on by contacting each other, while providing stable on-off switching characteristics, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Related Art
A nanowire switching device includes an insulating substrate, first and second electrodes disposed on the insulating substrate, and first and second nanowires vertically grown on the first and second electrodes, respectively. When a predetermined voltage difference is applied between the first and second electrodes, positive and negative charges are accumulated on the first and second nanowires, respectively. An attractive electrostatic force acts between the first and second nanowires to electrically deform the first and second nanowires so that distal ends of the first and second nanowires contact each other and are switched on. However, a high driving voltage of 25 V to 50 V should be applied between the first and second electrodes to induce elastic deformation of the nanowires for the two-electrode switching device. When the high driving voltage is applied, high current flows through the nanowires, which can lead to arcing or burning of the distal ends of the nanowires when they contact each other. The arcing or burning not only degrades switching characteristics but also reduces the lift span of the switching device.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds