Title:
Micromechanical device with piezoelectric and electrostatic actuation and method therefor
Document Type and Number:
United States Patent 7830066
Abstract:
A MEMS device uses both piezoelectric actuation and electrostatic actuation and also provides enough electrostatic force to enable very low voltage operation. As the electrostatic actuation uses DC and the piezoelectric actuation uses high frequency, the structure of the device minimizes the coupling of the two actuator structures to reduce noise. In addition, for some embodiments, the location of the physical structures of the piezoelectric actuator and electrostatic actuator generates higher contact force with lower voltage. For some embodiments, the piezoelectric actuator and electrostatic actuator of the device are connected at the contact shorting bar or capacitor plate location. This makes the contact shorting bar or capacitor plate the focal point of the forces generated by all of the actuators, thereby increasing the switch contact force.
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