Patent ID: 6351201
Filing Date: 2002-02-26
Classification: G02B,H01F,H01H

Abstract:
A bistable micromechanical switch comprising:a substrate; a driven member hingedly mounted to said substrate by one or more springs, and moving in a direction of motion along an x-axis; an actuation means fabricated on said substrate and interacting with said hingedly mounted driven member to actuate said member from a first equilibrium position at x=0 through an intermediate location x=a to a second equilibrium position x=a+b, with said switch designed such that a>b, and in which: said intermediate location at x=a can be characterized by an energy Ea relative to the first equilibrium location x=0; said second equilibrium position at x=a+b can be characterized by an energy Eb relative to the first equilibrium location at x=0, such that that the quantity Eb*(a/(aâˆ’b)) is greater than Ea; and said actuation means applies a braking force Fb between positions x=a to x=a+b, wherein Fb is of a magnitude Eb/(aâˆ’b).