Bistable force\acceleration sensor based on pull-in voltage monitoring

We report on experimental demonstration of force\acceleration sensing based on pull-in voltage monitoring in a fully compliant contactless bistable device, electrostatically actuated by a parallel-plate electrode. The device is suspended using initially curved flexible beams pulled by nonlinear electrostatic forces directed along the beams. A design parameters optimization reduced the sensitivity to fabrication tolerances and assured the presence of a bistable configuration in the device.