Fundamental Properties of OFF-ON Resistance of a New Type Self-recovering Fuse Operated by Dielectrophoresis

This paper deals with fundamental properties of the OFF to ON state transition of a new type of self-recovering fuse (SRF) device operated by dielectrophoresis (DEP) we have proposed and developed. This fuse device basically consists of electrodes made on a substrate, a fuse element to make and break the conducting path between the electrode gap, and liquid matrix as insulation media to cover the fuse element and the electrodes. The self-recovering operation, i.e. the OFF to ON state transition, is mainly controlled by DEP and viscous forces. In this study, we experimentally investigated influence of the liquid matrix and the substrate material on the OFF and ON resistances of the SRF device in terms of improvement of the resistance characteristics. We also investigated the effect of a mechanical impact or vibration on the ON state properties. As a result, we achieved the OFF resistance more than 1 MOmega without remarkably increasing the ON resistance, by using silicone oil as liquid matrix and the glass substrate. We confirmed the self-recovering operation by DEP and the maintaining ON state under both DC and high frequency (up to 100 kHz) AC voltage applications. In addition, the mechanical impact endurance of the SRF device was basically found