MICRO-ELECTRO MECHANICAL TUNNELING SWITCH
First Claim
1. A micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
- a substrate;
a plurality of actuating electrodes formed said substrate, each actuating electrode being activatable;
a cantilever beam having a first end and a second end;
a plurality of stops formed on said cantilever beam to engage said substrate between said plurality of actuating electrodes; and
a contact area formed in said substrate and located to engage said second end of said cantilever beam.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A micro-electromechanical system switch includes a substrate and a plurality of actuating electrodes formed the substrate wherein each actuating electrode is activatable. A cantilever beam has a first end and a second end and a plurality of stops formed thereon. The plurality of stops engages the substrate between the plurality of actuating electrode. A contact area is formed in the substrate and located to engage the second end of the cantilever beam. A voltage source applies a voltage to each actuating electrode independently in a sequence from an actuating electrode located adjacent to the first end of the cantilever beam to an actuating electrode located adjacent to the second end of the cantilever beam so that the plurality of stops sequentially engage the substrate between the plurality of actuating electrodes.
-
Citations
138 Claims
-
1. A micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
-
a substrate; a plurality of actuating electrodes formed said substrate, each actuating electrode being activatable; a cantilever beam having a first end and a second end; a plurality of stops formed on said cantilever beam to engage said substrate between said plurality of actuating electrodes; and a contact area formed in said substrate and located to engage said second end of said cantilever beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A switch comprising:
-
a first contact; a second contact; and an anti-stick layer formed on said second contact. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A switch comprising:
-
a first contact; and a second contact; said first and said second contact having an effective gap therebetween when said first and second contacts provide a closed switch. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A sealed micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
-
a substrate; a metal plug embedded in said substrate; a moving contact engaging a first end of said metal plug; a fixed contact being separated from a second end of said metal plug by a gap; an actuating electrode embedded in said substrate; a voltage source to apply a voltage to said actuating electrode so as to cause said metal plug to move to provide an electrical engagement between said fixed contact and said metal plug. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
-
51. A micro-electromechanical system tunneling transistor switch, comprising:
-
a P-type silicon substrate; a fixed contact embedded in said P-type silicon substrate; a moving contact; an actuating electrode embedded in said P-type silicon substrate; a voltage source to apply a voltage to said actuating electrode so as to cause said silicon moving contact to move to provide an electrical engagement between said fixed contact and said moving contact. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
-
-
69. A micro-electromechanical system tunneling triode switch, comprising:
-
a silicon substrate; a fixed contact embedded in said silicon substrate; a moving beam anchored at one end; actuating electrodes embedded in said silicon substrate; a first stop located on a first side of said fixed contact; a second stop located on a second side of said fixed contact; and a voltage source to apply a voltage to said actuating electrodes so as to cause said moving beam to move to provide an electrical engagement between said fixed contact and said moving beam. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83)
-
-
84. A switch comprising:
-
a first contact; and a second contact; said first and said second contact having a gap therebetween which is less than 50 nm when said first and second contacts provide an open switch.
-
-
85. A micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
-
a substrate; a plurality of actuating electrodes formed said substrate, each actuating electrode being activatable; a cantilever beam having a first end and a second end; a plurality of stops formed on said substrate to engage said cantilever beam between said plurality of actuating electrodes; and a contact area formed in said substrate and located to engage said second end of said cantilever beam. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104)
-
-
105. A micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
-
a substrate; an actuating electrode formed said substrate; a cantilever beam having a first end and a second end; a plurality of stops formed on said substrate to engage said cantilever beam; and a contact area formed in said substrate and located to engage said second end of said cantilever beam. - View Dependent Claims (106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121)
-
-
122. A micro-electromechanical system switch, comprising:
-
a substrate; an actuating electrode formed said substrate; a cantilever beam having a first end and a second end; a plurality of stops formed on said cantilever beam to engage said substrate; and a contact area formed in said substrate and located to engage said second end of said cantilever beam. - View Dependent Claims (123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138)
-
Specification