Low voltage mems relay filled with alternative gas mixture to sf6

A protective microelectromechanical system (MEMS) relay for a circuit interrupter, the MEMS relay being in electrical communication with a line conductor of the circuit interrupter and operatively coupled to a trip unit of the circuit interrupter, the MEMS relay comprising:

• a fault detection component structured to detect current flowing through the line conductor of the circuit interrupter;
• a gas tight sealed enclosure structured to isolate components within the sealed enclosure from an environment exterior to the sealed enclosure;
• a plurality of switch contacts coated with a liquid gallium alloy coating and enclosed within the sealed enclosure;
• and
• a gas mixture contained within the sealed enclosure such that the gas cannot diffuse to the environment exterior to the sealed enclosure and substances in the exterior environment cannot diffuse into the sealed enclosure,
• wherein the fault detection component is structured to cause the trip unit to cause a pair of separable contacts of the circuit interrupter to open upon detection of a fault condition in the line conductor by the fault detection component,
• wherein the MEMS relay is structured such that each of an opening and a closing of the MEMS relay switch contacts takes between 10 microseconds and 200 microseconds, and
• wherein the gas mixture comprises at least one of a number of anti-oxidation gases including nitrogen (N2), helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), and xenon (Xe).

A circuit interrupter structured to be disposed between a power source and an electrical load, the circuit interrupter comprising:

• a pair of separable contacts structured such that closing the separable contacts connects the electrical load to the power source and opening the separable contacts isolates the electrical load from the power source;
• an operating mechanism operatively coupled to the separable contacts and structured to open and close the separable contacts;
• a trip mechanism operatively coupled to the operating mechanism and structured to actuate the operating mechanism;
• and
• a protective microelectromechanical system (MEMS) relay, the MEMS relay being in electrical communication with a line conductor of the circuit interrupter and operatively coupled to the trip mechanism, the MEMS relay comprising:
• a fault detection component structured to detect current flowing through the line conductor of the circuit interrupter;
• a gas tight sealed enclosure structured to isolate components within the sealed enclosure from an environment exterior to the sealed enclosure;
• a plurality of switch contacts coated with a liquid gallium alloy coating and enclosed within the sealed enclosure;
• and
• a gas mixture contained within the sealed enclosure such that the gas cannot diffuse to the environment exterior to the sealed enclosure and substances in the exterior environment cannot diffuse into the sealed enclosure,
• wherein the fault detection component is structured to cause the separable contacts of the circuit interrupter to open upon detection of a fault condition in the line conductor by the fault detection component,
• wherein the MEMS relay is structured such that each of an opening and a closing of the MEMS relay switch contacts takes between 10 microseconds and 200 microseconds, and
• wherein the gas mixture comprises at least one of a number of anti-oxidation gases including nitrogen (N2), helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), and xenon (Xe).