Patent ID: 7388316

Claim:
A method for varying the capacitance of two capacitive electrodes, the method comprising: (a) providing a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) variable capacitor comprising: (i) first and second actuation electrodes being spaced apart a distance, wherein the first actuation electrode is movable with respect to the second actuation electrode when a voltage is applied across the first and second actuation electrodes; (ii) a first capacitive electrode attached to the first actuation electrode; and (iii) a second capacitive electrode attached to the second actuation electrode and spaced a distance from the first capacitive electrode for movement of the first capacitive electrode with respect to the second capacitive electrode upon application of voltage across the first and second actuation electrodes to change the capacitance between the first and second capacitive electrodes, wherein the capacitive electrodes are spaced closer to one another than the actuation electrodes, wherein the distance spacing the capacitive electrodes is one-third or less than the distance spacing the actuation electrodes; and (b) applying a voltage across the first and second actuation electrodes for moving the capacitive electrodes with respect to one another.