A surface-micromachining-based inertial micro-switch with compliant cantilever beam as movable electrode for enduring high shock and prolonging contact time

Recent Advancements in Inertial Micro-Switches

“…Even through the electroplating technology can enable a long contact time of the inertial microswitches, its inherent fabrication errors as mentioned in Section 2 usually lead to a low threshold accuracy. For instance, in [66], the actual thresholds increased from 32 to 38 g, while the intended target was 38 g, and in [67], the measured threshold of the switch with the designed threshold of 240 g was 288 g. The threshold deviation may be more serious in the case of low-g switches, since a large proof mass and therefore a great number of electroplating processes are required [20,68].…”

“…As mentioned in Section 3, it is feasible to compensate for the threshold inaccuracy from the fabrication tolerance by designing redundant switches on the same threshold level [4,10] or adjusting the electrostatic force between the contact parts of the electrostatically actuated switches to tune the Even through the electroplating technology can enable a long contact time of the inertial micro-switches, its inherent fabrication errors as mentioned in Section 2 usually lead to a low threshold accuracy. For instance, in [66], the actual thresholds increased from 32 to 38 g, while the intended target was 38 g, and in [67], the measured threshold of the switch with the designed threshold of 240 g was 288 g. The threshold deviation may be more serious in the case of low-g switches, since a large proof mass and therefore a great number of electroplating processes are required [20,68].…”

A Low-G Silicon Inertial Micro-Switch with Enhanced Contact Effect Using Squeeze-Film Damping

“…In recent years, in order to enhance the contact effect of the intermittent switch, there has been considerable effort put into the inertial micro-switch with a flexible electrode fabricated by the multi-layer process of electroplating technology [ 14 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The contact effect can be improved by the deformation of the flexible electrode during the contact process.…”

Design and Optimization of a Stationary Electrode in a Vertically-Driven MEMS Inertial Switch for Extending Contact Duration

“…However, this extremely transient contact time will become a significant obstacle for subsequent signal processing if the microswitch is applied in an integrated circuit [10,11,12,13]. In order to facilitate the signal processing and enhance the contact effect, Wang et al designed a laterally-driven inertial microswitch using two cantilever beams as the fixed electrode, which can reduce the contact-bouncing effect and prolong the contact time [14].…”