DESIGN AND MODELING OF A TRIPLE-STEPPED BEAM WITH OUT-OF-PLANE MOTION FOR BISTABLE MICROSWITCH APPLICATIONS
Abstract
Microswitches have been used for many different applications in building, automation, and security due to requiring little force. A novel design of a triple-stepped beam structure for a mechanical bistable microswitch is presented, and it was found that the bistability of the beam can be achieved by applying an electrostatic force which allows a high deflection with small electrode separation. A finite element method analysis has been used to design the bistable microswitch in a certain range of geometries based on the standard of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The simulation results show that the device requires a very
low input force to get to the bistable stages. The maximum force and the minimum force for switching between the bistable stages are 0.85 mN and 0.23 mN, respectively, which is suitable for electrostatic force at a microscale. The bistability is obtained with the second equilibrium at 75.17 µm that guarantees the perfect contact location between the beam and the conduction path (N+) located at 65.45 µm.
Downloads
References
Karumuri SR, Sravani G, Thalluri LN. A micro level electrostatically actuated cantilever and metal contact based series RF MEMS switch for multi-band applications. Cogent Engineering. 2017;4.
Chu C-H, Wen-Pin S, Chung S-Y, Tsai H-C, Shing T, Chang P-Z. A low actuation voltage electrostatic actuator for RF MEMS switch applications. J Micromech Microeng. 2007;17:1649-56.
Kim M-W, Song Y-H, Ko S-D, Ahn S-J, Yoon JB. Ultra-low voltage MEMS switch using a folded hinge structure. Micro and Nano Systems Letters. 2014;2(1):2.
Milojevic A. Compliant bistable mechanisms; 2011:181–186.
Jin Q, Lang JH, Slocum AH. A curved-beam bistable mechanism. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. 2004;13(2):137-46.
Casals-Terré J, Fargas-Marques A, Shkel AM. SnapAction Bistable Micromechanisms Actuated by Nonlinear Resonance. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. 2008;17:1082-93.
Wilcox DL, Howell LL. Fully compliant tensural bistable micromechanisms (FTBM). Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. 2005;14(6):1223-35.
Han JS, Muller C, Wallrabe U, Korvink JG. De- ¨sign, Simulation, and Fabrication of a Quadstable Monolithic Mechanism With X- and Y-Directional Bistable Curved Beams. Journal of Mechanical Design. 2006;129(11):1198-203.
Lisec T, Kreutzer M, Wagner B. A bistable pneumatic microswitch for driving fluidic components. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. 1996;54(1):746-9.
Vangbo M, Backlund Y. A lateral symmetrically ¨bistable buckled beam. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. 1998;8(1):29-32.
Jensen BD, Parkinson MB, Kurabayashi K, Howell L, Baker MS. Design optimization of a fully-compliant bistable micro-mechanism. ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings. 2001;2:2931-7.
Qiu J, Lang JH, Slocum A. A centrally-clamped parallel-beam bistable MEMS mechanism; 2001.
Vangbo M. An analytical analysis of a compressed bistable buckled beam. Sensors and Actuators A:Physical. 1998;69(3):212-6.
Hotzen I, Ternyak O, Shmulevich S, Elata D. Massfabrication compatible mechanism for converting inplane to out-of-plane motion. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). 2015;2015:897-900.
Legtenberg R, Gilbert J, Senturia S, Elwenspoek M. Electrostatic Curved Electrode Actuators. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. 1997;6(3):257-65.
Hung ES, Senturia SD. Extending the travel range of analog-tuned electrostatic actuators. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems. 1999;8(4):497-505.
Medina L, Gilat R, Ilic R, Krylov S. Two-Directional Operation of Bistable Latchable Micro Switch Actuated by a Single Electrode; 2017.
Chuang W-C, Lee H-L, Chang P-Z, Hu Y-C. Review on the modeling of electrostatic MEMS. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). 2010;10(6):6149-71.
