Energy storage mechanism closing micro switch

How does a micro-switch work?

Dimples are fabricated in the underneath surface of the micro-beam to limit the area of its direct contact with the bottom electrode. The actuation of the micro-switch consists of an input voltage signal to the side electrodes that releases the pulled-in cantilever and opens the switch.

Does a micro-switch use two side electrodes to open a normally closed switch?

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative This paper investigates the characteristics of a micro-switch that uses two side electrodes to open a normally closed switch. The side electrodes surround

What happens to adhesion force when a switch is released?

Note that once the switch is released, the adhesion force term vanishes from Eq. ( 20 ). Energy analysis is an efficient way to dynamic analysis such as phase portrait and pull-in instability. According to the law of conservation of energy, if there is no nonconservative work during a motion, the total energy of the system remains unchanged.

How kinetic energy affects the stability of a switch?

The switch is in continuous motion. As a result, the switch’s movable electrode accelerates and gains kinetic energy. In this case, the stability analysis depends on kinetic energy. The initial conditions can cause dynamic pull-in instability. For closing process, a DC voltage is applied to the bottom electrode.

Does a micro-switch have a static pull-in?

In many MEMS devices, pull-in is an undesirable feature, but it is the main operating mechanism for micro-switches. In the present work, the switch of interest is an initially pulled-in, or closed, switch. In the following, we will demonstrate how the static pull-in happens in a levitation-based micro-switch.

How do MEMS switches work?

Much research on MEMS switches has concerned the electrostatic attractive force that causes pull-in instability that closes the switch and keeps it closed. The conventional actuation of MEMS devices uses a gap-closing capacitor (Fig. 1 ). Charging the electrodes generates an electrostatic field that moves the top electrode down to the fixed one.