Optimal design of a bistable switch
- †Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; and Departments of §Electrical Engineering and ¶Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Edited by George C. Papanicolaou, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved June 6, 2003 (received for review March 14, 2003)
Abstract
Determining optimally designed structures is important for diverse fields of science and engineering. Here we describe a procedure for calculating the optimal design of a switch and apply the method to a bistable microelectromechanical system relay switch. The approach focuses on characterizing the unstable transition state connecting the two stable equilibria to control the force displacements. Small modifications in component shape lead to a substantial improvement in device operation. Fabrication of the optimized devices confirms the predictions.
Footnotes
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↵ ‡ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: brenner{at}deas.harvard.edu.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
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↵ ∥ There is a chance that designs with smaller ψmin will require smaller overall forces to actuate; since increasing the force ratio further does have the advantage of further decreasing τ0.
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↵ ** Li, J., Qiu, J., Lang, J. & Slocum, A., Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Precision Engineering, July 18–20, 2001, Yokohama, Japan.
- Copyright © 2003, The National Academy of Sciences
