MEMS acceleration switch with bi-directionally tunable threshold

•We firstly propose a bi-directionally tunable MEMS acceleration switch.•Threshold decreased from 10.25g to 2.0g by applying tuning voltage.•Threshold increased from 10.25g to 17.25g by applying tuning voltage.•Additional functionality of safe/armed position convertibility is realized.•Additional fu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. 2014-02, Vol.208, p.120-129
Main Authors: Kim, Hyunseok, Jang, Yun-Ho, Kim, Yong-Kweon, Kim, Jung-Mu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceleration
Acceleration switch
Actuators
Bi-directional tuning
Electric potential
MEMS inertial sensor
Pushing
Switches
Threshold acceleration
Thresholds
Tuning
Voltage
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Summary:•We firstly propose a bi-directionally tunable MEMS acceleration switch.•Threshold decreased from 10.25g to 2.0g by applying tuning voltage.•Threshold increased from 10.25g to 17.25g by applying tuning voltage.•Additional functionality of safe/armed position convertibility is realized.•Additional functionality of mechanical latching is realized. A MEMS acceleration switch capable of tuning threshold acceleration to either higher or lower levels is designed and implemented with comb drive actuators as a mechanism of threshold tuning. A small sized switch (1.6×3.1×0.55mm3) is successfully realized by patterning silicon structures on a glass wafer. The resonant frequency of fabricated switches agrees well with a designed frequency of 1.1kHz. The threshold acceleration at no tuning voltage is 10.25g and it is subsequently tuned to 2.0g and 17.25g by applying 30V to pushing comb and pulling comb, respectively. The rising time is measured to be 9.8ms. Additional functionalities such as safe/armed position convertibility and single use latching switch are also described for diverse applications of the tunable acceleration switches.
ISSN:0924-4247
1873-3069
DOI:10.1016/j.sna.2014.01.003