@article{yang_2011, title={Contact reliability in ohmic microswitches}, volume={26}, number={4}, journal={Materials Technology}, author={Yang, Z.}, year={2011}, pages={184–190} }
 @article{yang_lichtenwalner_morris_krim_kingon_2009, title={Comparison of Au and Au-Ni Alloys as Contact Materials for MEMS Switches}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1941-0158"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-67349128609&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2010850}, abstractNote={This paper reports on a comparison of gold and gold-nickel alloys as contact materials for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches. Pure gold is commonly used as the contact material in low-force metal-contact MEMS switches. The top two failure mechanisms of these switches are wear and stiction, which may be related to the material softness and the relatively high surface adhesion, respectively. Alloying gold with another metal introduces new processing options to strengthen the material against wear and reduce surface adhesion. In this paper, the properties of Au-Ni alloys were investigated as the lower contact electrode was controlled by adjusting the nickel content and thermal processing conditions. A unique and efficient switching degradation test was conducted on the alloy samples, using pure gold upper microcontacts. Solid-solution Au-Ni samples showed reduced wear rate but increased contact resistance, while two-phase Au-Ni (20 at.% Ni) showed a substantial improvement of switching reliability with only a small increase of contact resistance. Discussion of the effects of phase separation, surface topography, hardness, and electrical resistivity on contact resistance and switch degradation is also included.}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS}, author={Yang, Zhenyin and Lichtenwalner, Daniel J. and Morris, Arthur S., III and Krim, Jacqueline and Kingon, Angus I.}, year={2009}, month={Apr}, pages={287–295} }
 @article{yang_lichtenwalner_morris_menzel_nauenheim_gruverman_krim_kingon_2007, title={A new test facility for efficient evaluation of MEMS contact materials}, volume={17}, ISSN={["1361-6439"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-51649090154&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1088/0960-1317/17/9/006}, abstractNote={A novel test facility for the efficient evaluation of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches and the development of alternative contact materials is described. The facility utilizes the upper cantilever from commercial MEMS contact switches, and tests these against alternative bottom contact materials within a modified atomic force microscope (AFM). The test closely approximates the real switch, but can accommodate a wider range of test conditions and contact materials. The facility allows alternative contact materials to be easily and quickly incorporated, and therefore evaluated by measuring the number of cycles to failure. The evolution of the wear surfaces of the switch contact materials under test can also be easily examined. In order to demonstrate the facility, the evolution of the contact resistance and wear of a commercial RF MEMS cantilever with Au contacts was monitored under accelerated test conditions, comparing the behavior of Au bottom contacts to an alternative Au–Ni alloy contact material. The Au–Ni (20 at.%) alloy displayed reduced wear rates and improved switch cycle lifetimes compared to pure Au, while retaining acceptable values of contact resistance.}, number={9}, journal={JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING}, author={Yang, Z. and Lichtenwalner, D. and Morris, A. and Menzel, S. and Nauenheim, C. and Gruverman, A. and Krim, J. and Kingon, A. I.}, year={2007}, month={Sep}, pages={1788–1795} }