Patent ID: 7719318

Claim:
A nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switching device, comprising: a substrate; a source electrode comprising an electrically-conductive beam which is suspended above the substrate and anchored at each end thereof to the substrate; a drain electrode located on the substrate proximate to a midpoint of the electrically-conductive beam on one side thereof, with the drain electrode being separated from the electrically-conductive beam by a first gap; and a pair of gate electrodes which are electrically connected together and located on the substrate on the same side of the electrically-conductive beam as the drain electrode, with the pair of gate electrodes being separated from the electrically-conductive beam by a second gap which is larger than the first gap, and with each gate electrode of the pair of gate electrodes being located adjacent to the drain electrode on a different side thereof, and with the pair of gate electrodes, in response to an actuation voltage applied between the pair of gate electrodes and the source electrode, urging the electrically-conductive beam to bow towards the drain electrode in a direction substantially parallel to the substrate to form an electrical connection between the source electrode and the drain electrode.