| US 7,545,252 B1 | ||
| Phase change MEMS switch | ||
| Mark Alfred Lantz, Adliswil (Switzerland) | ||
| Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jul. 24, 2008, as Appl. No. 12/179,236. | ||
| Int. Cl. H01H 37/46 (2006.01); F03G 7/06 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 337—139 [337/393] | 1 Claim |
| 1. A switch for providing a control function, the switch comprising:
an actuator comprising:
a base portion;
a cantilever beam connected to the base portion;
an actuator cell adjacent to the cantilever beam, the actuator cell comprising:
a first metal electrode positioned on the cantilevered beam;
a second metal electrode positioned near the first metal electrode; and
phase change material between the first and second metal electrodes,
wherein the phase change material connects the first metal electrode to the second metal electrode, wherein applying a burst
of energy to the phase change material causes the phase change material to change between an amorphous state and a crystalline
state, causing the cantilevered beam to move between a first position and a target position and wherein the cantilevered beam
remains at the target position upon removal of the energy thereby activating the control function.
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