Microelectromechanical (MEM) switch and inverter for digital IC applications

Microelectromechanical (MEM) switch and MEM switch-based inverter was proposed and fabricated using a CMOS-compatible poly-Si surface micromachining process. The key concept is developed that the MEM switch-based inverter with the same implementation as CMOS inverter has a high noise immunity and low power dissipation because the MEM switch can clearly eliminate the leakage current when the device is off. The fabricated MEM switch showed ideal on/off characteristics with a sub-threshold swing of 4 m V/decade, an essentially zero off current, and a very high on/off current ratio over 10 s and also the MEM switch-based inverter showed ideal voltage transfer characteristics.