Design and Fabrication of a Microelectromechanical Switch

Abstract

Surface micromachining technique was applied to produce electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical (MEMS) switch. Vibrating cantilever beam of varying length was fabricated using a copper sacrificial layer and nickel electroplating technique. The length and thickness of a cantilever beam as well as a gap space determines actuation voltage and should be optimized to ensure the best performance of a switch. The fabricated microelectromechanical switch can be used as autonomous electrostatically driven microrelay or can be integrated for use in semiconductor chips or hybrid devices.