Micromachined passive magnetostatic relays for portable applications

Author

Tang, Min ; Liao, Ebin ; Kuo, Cheng Cheng JK ; Lee, Dayong ; Kumar, Rakesh ; Lee, Yong Hean ; Shankar, Ravi ; Le Neel, Olivier ; Noviello, Giuseppe ; Italia, Francesco

Author_Institution

Inst. of Microelectron., A*STAR (Agency for Sci., Technol. & Res.), Singapore, Singapore

fYear

2010

fDate

24-28 Jan. 2010

Firstpage

779

Lastpage

782

Abstract

A passive MEMS magnetostatic relay using only one electroplated magnetic layer was presented. The relay consists of an electroplated Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ plate supported by a pair of torsion bars from two sides. The relay is actuated by approaching an external magnet to the relay. The switching-on magnetic field is about 4.8 mT and the contact resistance is about 3 ohms with gold contact. The lifetime testing shows more than 7.5 million hot switching cycles with 1-2 mA current. This passive magnetic relay could find applications in portable electronics, such as cellular phones, personal data assistant (PDA), pace makers, hearing aids, etc.

Keywords

contact resistance; life testing; magnetostatics; micromachining; microrelays; cellular phones; contact resistance; current 1 mA to 2 mA; electroplated magnetic layer; gold contact; hearing aids; hot switching cycles; lifetime testing; magnetic field; micromachined passive magnetostatic relays; pace makers; passive MEMS magnetostatic relay; personal data assistant; portable electronics; pressure 4.8 mtorr; resistance 3 ohm; torsion bars; Bars; Contact resistance; Gold; Iron; Life testing; Magnetic fields; Magnetic switching; Magnetostatics; Micromechanical devices; Relays;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2010 IEEE 23rd International Conference on

Conference_Location

Wanchai, Hong Kong

ISSN

1084-6999

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-5761-8

Electronic_ISBN

1084-6999

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.2010.5442292

Filename

5442292