Novel electrothermally actuated magnetostatic bistable microrelay for telecommunication applications

A new energy efficient latching micro relay is presented. Its design and production process allows a subsequent industrial realization. Concerning its large contact travel (100 μm) and large contact force (12.4 mN) corresponding to a low contact resistance (33.8 mOhm for gold/gold contacts), the micro relay is well suited for matrices in telecommunication applications. The MEMS relay (3.6 × 5.8 × 0.25 mm
³
) is produced using a surface micromachining process with AZ 9260, AZ nXT 125 and SU-8 2025 UV lithography and micro electroplating of copper and nickel. The integration of the electrical path and the magnetostatic bistable mechanism enables fast switching (<; 8 ms), although the actuation is performed by electrothermal actuators.