J. Romero1, M.H. Azarian1, C. Morillo,1 and M.G. Pecht1
1CALCE, Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20740, USA
Abstract:
Today’s laptop keyboards utilize membrane switches that open and close circuits. While these keyboards can be made extremely thin and light, they can exhibit intermittent and permanent failures when subjected to some combinations of temperature and humidity. This paper presents an analysis of keyboard membrane switches that were subjected to both fielded and environmental test conditions. The paper presents and discusses the root causes of failure that were identified.
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