Design and Analysis of Bistable MEMS Switch

The aim of this paper is to design and analyze a Bistable MEMS switch which consumes energy only during the state transition. That means, when the switch is at one of its stable state, either ON or OFF, there is no power consumption. Basically switch is a bistable system. There are several bistable mechanisms, among them buckling mechanism is chosen to attain bistability in the proposed Bistable MEMS switch. Buckling is a mode of failure generally resulting from structural instability due to compressive action on the structural member or element involved. Compared to other bistable mechanisms, buckling mechanism has better feasibility with MEMS fabrication process. The proposed switch design opted centrally - clamped parallel beam structure to achieve buckling mechanism in order to attain the bistability. V-beam actuators are used to provide the critical loading at the middle of the centrally-clamped parallel beam which results in the buckling of the beam. Geometries of the proposed Bistable MEMS switch and their simulation results are presented. The proposed device needs a critical loading of 0.246N and it has an energy consumption of nearly 15 mu J.