Stiction-Free Soft Landing for Infrared Thermal Detectors

Micromachined structures that repeatedly contact their substrate must be actuated in such a way to minimize stiction. A study of electrostatic actuation for adaptive thermal detectors has been performed that shows only a few tenths of a volt can separate normal actuation, snap-down without stiction, and snap-down with stiction. The applied voltage needed to achieve snap-down without stiction is largely constant if the pulse width exceeds the mechanical response time, but increases dramatically if the pulse is applied for a shorter time