Energy-Based Approach to Adaptive Pulse Shaping for Control of RF-MEMS DC-Contact Switches

This paper presents a closed-form analysis to design a pre-shaped open-loop driving actuation waveform to reduce the bouncing effect while maintaining fast switching of a microelectromechanical system contact switch. A single-degree-of-freedom model and the principle of energy conservation were utilized to design a shaped voltage waveform to close the switch with low impact speed. The method can easily adapt the voltage waveform to the variance of pull-in voltages due to imperfect manufacturing and to observed pull-in voltage drift during operation. The analytical calculation of the actuation pulse and the closure time of the switch with near zero velocity agree with simulation and are validated experimentally on the set of cantilever switches. It is shown that the analysis is also applicable for electrostatically actuated devices with more general geometries.