Heterogeneous Integrated MEMS Inertial Switch with Electrostatic Locking and Compliant Cantilever Stationary Electrode for Holding Stable ‘on’-State

This paper presents a novel MEMS inertial switch that can hold a stable `on'-state by electrostatic force locking. The compliant stationary electrode is designed as a micro-cantilevers array to weaken the collision intensity during the pull-in process, which can significantly reduce the contact bouncing. The simulation result shows that the designed switch can hold a stable `on'-state under the acceleration of 52g at 24V electrostatic voltage. The silicon dry etching, multilayer metal electroplating and Au-Sn eutectic bonding are combined to fabricate the heterogeneous integrated switch. The test result confirms that the fabricated switch can realize a stable `on'-state locking state under 48g shock acceleration with 27V electrostatic pull-in voltage.