Thermally actuated, bi-stable, snapping silicon membranes

Thermally actuated, bistable, snapping silicon membranes have been fabricated on a silicon wafer and tested. Nonlinear finite element analysis has been used to model the snapping behavior of the membranes and to refine their design. A unique feature of these membranes is that after snapping down, they remain in the downward buckled state as the temperature decreases back to its starting point. The critical snapping temperature range is 50/spl deg/C-60/spl deg/C for 2 mm square, 6 /spl mu/m thick membranes with 1 /spl mu/m SiO/sub 2/ on top and 3 /spl mu/m aluminum deposited on the backside. The snapping temperature can be varied by changing the dimensions and materials used in the membrane fabrication.