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US 7,479,785 B2Granted
Control and testing of a micro electromechanical switch
AssigneeFreescale Semiconductor, Inc.
InventorsLianjun Liu, Bishnu P. Gogoi
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AssigneeFreescale Semiconductor, Inc.
InventorsLianjun Liu, Bishnu P. Gogoi
Estimating the term…
A circuit includes a micro electro mechanical switch and a detection circuit. The micro electro mechanical switch has a movable portion positioned to form an electrical connection between a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact in response to an electrostatic force provided by a top activation electrode and a bottom activation electrode. The detection circuit is electrically coupled to the top and bottom activation electrodes and is for detecting a first capacitance value between the top and bottom activation electrodes when the movable portion is in a first position and for detecting a second capacitance value when the movable portion is in a second position. By detecting a change in the capacitance, it can be determined if the switch is open or closed.
A circuit comprising:
A method for controlling a micro electromechanical switch having a movable portion positioned to form an electrical connection between a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact, a top activation electrode formed on the movable portion and a bottom activation electrode formed below the movable portion, the top and bottom activation electrodes forming a capacitor structure for electrostatically moving the movable portion in response to a driver voltage applied between the top and bottom activation electrodes, the method comprising:
A method for controlling a micro electromechanical switch having a movable portion positioned to form an electrical connection between a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact, a top activation electrode formed on the movable portion and a bottom activation electrode formed below the movable portion, the top and bottom activation electrodes forming a capacitor structure for electrostatically moving the movable portion in response to a driver voltage applied between the top and bottom activation electrodes, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.