Patent ID: 6864111

Claim:
A method for driving an individual member of a multi-element voltage-switchable sensor array the sensor array comprising microswitch array having a plurality of individual elements of the array connected in series with individual members of a plurality of sensor elements and a bias voltage source, the microswitch array comprising a plurality of electric microswitches each member of the plurality of microswitches being in first electrode/semiconductor/second electrode layer form with the semiconductor layer being a unit body shared by the members of the array, the plurality of microswitches defined by a row of first electrodes and a column of second electrodes configured in an x-y-addressable array, and the x-y addressable position of each individual microswitch being uniquely defined by a particular first electrode defining the x coordinate and a particular second electrode defining the y coordinate, and said sensor elements producing an electrical signal in response to a stimulus being sensed, the method comprising applying a positive bias voltage greater than the microswitch's turn on voltage across the particular first electrode and particular second electrode defining the individual member, leaving the remainder of the first electrodes and the remainder of the second electrodes floating and reading the electrical signal produced by the particular sensor element.