Design Criteria for a Push-On Push-Off MEMS Bistable Device

In this paper, we present closed-form design criteria for a microelectromechanical system push-on push-off bistable device. The design criteria, which were derived analytically, are expected to be useful for designers for rapidly designing devices with bistability and the push-on push-off capability. The aforementioned bistable device consists of a V-beam actuator, two sets of double-curved beams, and a lever connecting the two sets of beams. Spring stiffness ratio was derived as a criterion for determining the existence of bistability. The ratio between the long and the short arms of the lever was derived as the other criterion, and it was intended to be used for determining the conditions for push-on and push-off capabilities. Both criteria can be explicitly expressed in terms of the device dimensions and material properties. The derived design criteria were validated by experimental measurement results obtained for more than 100 different devices.