Journal ArticleDOI
A bulk-micromachined bistable relay with U-shaped thermal actuators
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TLDR
In this paper, a DRIE-through-etched laterally bistable MEMS relay for power applications is presented, with a primary emphasis on the design and modeling of its U-shaped transient thermal actuators, and a secondary emphasis on its contact element.Abstract:
This paper reports a deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE)-through-etched laterally bistable MEMS relay for power applications, with a primary emphasis on the design and modeling of its U-shaped transient thermal actuators, and a secondary emphasis on the design and fabrication of its contact element. In this relay, a contact crossbar is carried by a curved-beam bistable mechanism , which is toggled by transient U-shaped thermal actuators with their hot beam adiabaticly heated by electrical pulses. Each U-shaped thermal actuator comprises uniform-thickness hot and cold beams with a gap between them so they bend differently. This paper develops both a basic model and a complete model for the actuator that are verified by Finite Element Analysis and serve as effective design tools. The DRIE process creates nonideal etched surfaces, which pose challenges for good relay contacts. Both contact design and process development are discussed to help alleviate this problem. The fabricated relay exhibits a minimum total on-state resistance of 60 m/spl Omega/, and a maximum current carrying capacity of 3 A. It switches with a 1 ms actuation pulse, and a maximum 5 Hz repetition rate.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The pull-in behavior of electrostatically actuated bistable microstructures
TL;DR: In this article, the results of theoretical and experimental investigation of an initially curved clamped-clamped microbeam actuated by a distributed electrostatic force were presented, and the influence of various parameters on the stability was investigated.
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The dynamic behavior of MEMS arch resonators actuated electrically
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the dynamic behavior of clamped-clamped micromachined arches when actuated by a small DC electrostatic load superimposed to an AC harmonic load.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nonlinear Dynamics of MEMS Arches Under Harmonic Electrostatic Actuation
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the nonlinear dynamics of clamped-clamped micromachined arches when actuated by a dc electrostatic load superimposed on an ac harmonic load, and the results showed a variety of interesting nonlinear phenomena, such as hysteresis, softening behavior, dynamic snap-through, and dynamic pull-in.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dynamic stability of electrostatically actuated initially curved shallow micro beams
Slava Krylov,N. Dick +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present results of a theoretical and numerical investigation of the transient dynamics of an initially curved, shallow, double-clamped micro beam, actuated by distributed electrostatic and inertial forces.
Journal ArticleDOI
On using the dynamic snap-through motion of MEMS initially curved microbeams for filtering applications
TL;DR: In this article, numerical and experimental investigations of the dynamics of micromachined shallow arches (initially curved microbeams) and the possibility of using their dynamic snap-through motion for filtering purposes are presented.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
A curved-beam bistable mechanism
TL;DR: In this paper, a monolithic mechanically bistable mechanism that does not rely on residual stress for its bistability is presented, based on two curved centrally-clamped parallel beams, hereafter referred to as double curved beams.
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Analysis of tip deflection and force of a bimetallic cantilever microactuator
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of the electromechanical performance of bimetallic cantilever microactuators by deriving the relationship between the tip deflection and change in temperature using a simple analytical approach is presented.
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Modeling the thermal behavior of a surface-micromachined linear-displacement thermomechanical microactuator
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the development and experimental validation of a finite-difference thermal model of a thermomechanical in-plane microactuator (TIM).
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Fully integrated magnetically actuated micromachined relays
TL;DR: In this paper, a fully integrated magnetically actuated micromachined relay has been successfully fabricated and tested, which can make and break 1.2 A of current through the relay contacts when the relay is electromagnetically switched.
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Electrothermal properties and modeling of polysilicon microthermal actuators
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address a range of issues on modeling electrothermal microactuators, including the physics of temperature dependent material properties and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling techniques.