A Novel Design of Triple Stepped Beam with Out-of-Plane Motion for Bistable Micro-Switch
Abstract:
Micro-switches have been used for many different applications in building, automation, and security due to its requirement of a very small amount of force. In this paper, a new novel design of triple stepped beam for the mechanical bistable micro-switch is presented. The bistability can be achieved by applying an electrostatic force which allows high deflections with small electrode separation. A finite element method analysis (ABAQUS) has been used to get a proper design of the bistable micro-switch 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 the bistable stages. The maximum force and the minimum force for switching between the bistable stages are around 0.85 mN and 0.23 mN, respectively. The bistability is obtained with the second equilibrium at 71.11 µm that guarantees the perfectible contact location between the beam and the conduction path (N+) located at 60.45 µm.