Characterisation of a low-voltage actuated gold microswitch

Gold microstructures were fabricated and electrostatically driven to demonstrate the feasibility of a low-voltage actuated microswitch. The structures, composed of a deflectable cantilever microbeam, two lateral driving electrodes and a working part, are manufactured using a micromachining technique with a single mask. Both static and dynamic behaviours of the device are presented. Youngʹs modulus and the ageing of the structures are also estimated.