Microswitch with mixed piezoelectric and electrostatic actuation

Francois Chapuis (1, 2) , Emmanuel Defay (3) , Fabrice Casset (2, 3) , Jean-François Manceau (1) , Francois Bastien (1) , Marc Aïd (3)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)
2 STMicroelectronics
3 CEA-LETI - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information

In this article, a new concept of microswitch is investigated with the objective to decrease the actuation voltage. It consists in a component with two kinds of actuation mechanisms: piezoelectric actuation and electrostatic actuation. The structures were realized with a technology compatible with CMOs technology. Aluminium nitride (AIN) was selected as piezoelectric material for its maturity and integration capabilities.

Mots clés: electrostatic; piezoelectric; actuation; microswitch

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Francois Chapuis, Emmanuel Defay, Fabrice Casset, Jean-François Manceau, Francois Bastien, et al.. Microswitch with mixed piezoelectric and electrostatic actuation. 14th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, Jun 2007, LYON, France. pp.U584-U585. ⟨hal-00346154⟩