Patent ID: 8168120

Claim:
A switch, comprising: a mechanically resonant first element; an electric field generator, configured to produce an electric field which selectively subjects the first element to a force having at least one dynamic component adapted to excite an oscillation in the first element, and a biasing component adapted to induce a force which biases the first element with respect to a second element; and a material which selectively alters at least one mechanical condition, tending to cause a change in an oscillation of the first element, wherein the material is configured to provide a range of alteration in the at least one mechanical condition which includes an unstable oscillation behavior which causes a dynamic pull-in and a contact between the first and second elements, and wherein the first element has a stable oscillation state and an unstable oscillation state, and wherein the electric field generator is configured to oscillate the first element in the stable oscillation state absent an alteration of the mechanical condition by the material within a potential well defined by the electrostatic field, and the material is further configured to alter the mechanical condition such that the oscillation of the first element enters the unstable oscillation state and escapes from the potential well, resulting in a dynamic pull-in of the first element in the unstable oscillation state.