Bistable microelectromechanical actuator
First Claim
1. A microelectromechanical (MEM) actuator, comprising:
- (a) a shaped membrane formed above a substrate, the membrane being held in compression by elongate supports attached to a pair of opposing edges of the membrane and by an elongate resilient member attached to the membrane at a midpoint thereof to provide a curvilinear cross-sectional shape for the membrane and thereby define a first mechanical state of the membrane; and
(b) electrostatic means for switching the membrane from the first mechanical state to a second mechanical state having a cross-sectional shape that is a mirror image the first mechanical state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bistable microelectromechanical (MEM) actuator is formed on a substrate and includes a stressed membrane of generally rectangular shape that upon release assumes a curvilinear cross-sectional shape due to attachment at a midpoint to a resilient member and at opposing edges to a pair of elongate supports. The stressed membrane can be electrostatically switched between a pair of mechanical states having mirror-image symmetry, with the MEM actuator remaining in a quiescent state after a programming voltage is removed. The bistable MEM actuator according to various embodiments of the present invention can be used to form a nonvolatile memory element, an optical modulator (with a pair of mirrors supported above the membrane and moving in synchronism as the membrane is switched), a switchable mirror (with a single mirror supported above the membrane at the midpoint thereof) and a latching relay (with a pair of contacts that open and close as the membrane is switched). Arrays of bistable MEM actuators can be formed for applications including nonvolatile memories, optical displays and optical computing.
818 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A microelectromechanical (MEM) actuator, comprising:
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(a) a shaped membrane formed above a substrate, the membrane being held in compression by elongate supports attached to a pair of opposing edges of the membrane and by an elongate resilient member attached to the membrane at a midpoint thereof to provide a curvilinear cross-sectional shape for the membrane and thereby define a first mechanical state of the membrane; and (b) electrostatic means for switching the membrane from the first mechanical state to a second mechanical state having a cross-sectional shape that is a mirror image the first mechanical state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A bistable microelectromechanical (MEM) actuator comprising:
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(a) a substrate; (b) a stressed membrane formed above the substrate, the membrane being supported at a pair of opposing edges thereof and further being supported by a resilient member below the membrane near a midpoint thereof to provide a curvilinear cross-sectional shape for the membrane to define a first mechanical state thereof; and (c) electrostatic means for switching the stressed membrane from the first mechanical state to a second mechanical state having a cross-sectional shape that is a mirror image of the first mechanical state. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A method for forming a microelectromechanical (MEM) actuator, comprising steps for:
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(a) forming a resilient member and a pair of elongate supports on a substrate; (b) forming a stressed membrane having a curvilinear shape by attaching the membrane at a midpoint thereof to the resilient member and at a pair of opposing edges thereof to the elongate supports; and (c) forming a first electrode on or within the stressed membrane, and forming a second electrode spaced therefrom for electrostatically switching the membrane between a pair of mechanical states thereof. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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Specification