Ultra-Low-Power Logic with Contactless Capacitive MEMS

We report the simulation, design, fabrication and performance assessment of capacitive MEMS, carrying out contactless electromechanical computing with ultra-low-power consumption. The novel concept is implemented on silicon using on-purpose differential comb-drive actuators. This shift in the paradigm allows near-zero power dissipation by asymptotically suppressing static and dynamic energy losses which are inherently present in current hardware for logic implementation. Furthermore, this novel approach based on capacitive information encoding allows recovery of the invested charges by the power supply asymptotically suppressing dynamic losses and opening the way towards adiabatic operation. At the very least, the contactless operation resolves the reliability issues in existing electromechanical logics based on N/MEMS relays.