Cantilevered micro-electromechanical switch array
First Claim
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1. A micro electromechanical device comprising:
- a base layer having a conductive trace and at least one contact and a flexible cantilevered platform having a conductive trace and at least one contact aligned with said base layer conductive trace and contact;
said base layer and said cantilevered platform maintained in a spaced apart by a spacer layer if no bias is applied to said conductive traces and in mechanical engagement at one portion of said cantilevered platform when a bias is applied to said conductive traces; and
a latching mechanism for maintaining said cantilevered platform in mechanical engagement with said base layer after said bias is removed.
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Abstract
A flexible micro-electromechanical switch having a cantilevered platform for forming an electrical circuit. A latching mechanism maintains the platform in a biased position after the biasing voltage is removed. The flexible micro-electromechanical switch can be formed into large area arrays and used as the backplane of display devices.
64 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A micro electromechanical device comprising:
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a base layer having a conductive trace and at least one contact and a flexible cantilevered platform having a conductive trace and at least one contact aligned with said base layer conductive trace and contact;
said base layer and said cantilevered platform maintained in a spaced apart by a spacer layer if no bias is applied to said conductive traces and in mechanical engagement at one portion of said cantilevered platform when a bias is applied to said conductive traces; and
a latching mechanism for maintaining said cantilevered platform in mechanical engagement with said base layer after said bias is removed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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9. A micro electromechanical device comprising:
a base layer having a conductive trace and at least one contact and a flexible layer having a conductive trace and at least one contact on an opposing side of said flexible layer, said conductive trace and contact aligned with said base layer conductive trace and contact;
said base layer and said flexible layer at least partially maintained in a spaced apart by a spacer layer and bonded together to form a composite switch, said flexible layer having a cantilevered platform separated from said flexible layer by a gap such that, said cantilevered platform is maintained in a spaced apart relationship if no bias is applied to said conductive traces and in mechanical engagement at least a portion of said cantilevered platform when a bias is applied to said conductive traces.- View Dependent Claims (8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A backplane array of switches comprising:
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a plurality of composite switches arranged in rows and columns, each of said switches having a base layer and a flexible cantilevered platform at least partially maintained in a spaced apart by a spacer layer;
each of said switches having bias means for controlling said cantilevered platform such that, said cantilevered platform is maintained in a spaced apart relationship if no bias is applied to said conductive traces and in mechanical engagement at least a portion of said cantilevered platform when a bias is applied to said conductive traces;
each of said switches having at least two contacts for forming an electrical circuit when said cantilevered platform is mechanical engagement;
a first driver circuit for controlling a bias across one of said plurality of columns;
a second driver circuit for controlling a bias across each of said plurality of rows to selectively bias said cantilevered platform;
a third driver circuit for selectively latching said biased platforms in a column after said first driver circuit changes the bias across said one of said plurality of columns, such that said biased platforms remain in mechanical contact with said base layer; and
means for biasing a display medium. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification