Cabrera Pizarro, Rafmag

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VO2-based multiple state micro-mechanical memory
(2011) Cabrera Pizarro, Rafmag; Sepulveda Alancastro, Nelson; College of Engineering; Fernández, Félix E.; Toledo Quiñones, Manuel; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Steinberg, Lev
A VO2-coated silicon micromechanical cantilever capable of achieving multiple positional states is presented. The demonstrated mechanical memory uses the bimorph cantilever tip displacement as the programming parameter, and light pulses from a laser diode as the actuation mechanism. The large contraction of the VO2 thin film across its insulator-to-metal-transition (IMT) caused the bending of the bimorph cantilever structure. Absolute displacements up to 21 μm were achieved in steps of different magnitudes when laser pulses of the same amplitude are used. The magnitude of the displacement steps were normalized to similar values along the excursion through the IMT by changing the magnitude of the laser pulses, demonstrating that the magnitude of the displacement steps can be controlled. The cantilever structure consisted of a silicon micrometer-sized cantilever (350 μm long, 35 μm wide, 1μm thick) coated with a 300 nm VO2 thin film deposited by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD).