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US 7,924,122 B2Granted
Collapsible contact switch
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsTsung-Kuan Allen Chou, Hanan Bar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention describe a contact switch, which may include a bottom electrode structure including a bottom actuation electrode and a top electrode structure including a top actuation electrode and one or more stoppers able to maintain a predetermined gap between the top electrode and the bottom electrode when the switch is in a collapsed state.
Claims10
A micro-electro-mechanical systems switch comprising:
- a first electrode having a first contact disposed thereon;
- a layer comprising a support beam having a portion operably attached to said first electrode, a second electrode adjacent to said support beam and distal from said attached portion, and a contact beam adjacent to said second electrode and distal from said support beam, wherein said support beam has a low spring constant, said contact beam has a high spring constant, and said second electrode is rigid relative to the support beam and the contact beam;
- and
- a second contact disposed on said contact beam, wherein application of an activation voltage between said electrodes causes a contact force between said contacts.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.