The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 30, 2006
Filed:
Sep. 19, 2002
Robert N. Schwartz, Costa Mesa, CA (US);
Ming Wu, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Tsung-yuan Hsu, Westlake Village, CA (US);
Adele E. Schmitz, Newbury Park, CA (US);
Robert Y. Loo, Agoura Hills, CA (US);
James H. Schaffner, Chatsworth, CA (US);
Gregory L. Tangonan, Oxnard, CA (US);
Robert N. Schwartz, Costa Mesa, CA (US);
Ming Wu, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Tsung-Yuan Hsu, Westlake Village, CA (US);
Adele E. Schmitz, Newbury Park, CA (US);
Robert Y. Loo, Agoura Hills, CA (US);
James H. Schaffner, Chatsworth, CA (US);
Gregory L. Tangonan, Oxnard, CA (US);
HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
A micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) switch formed on a substrate, the switch comprising a transmission line formed on the substrate, a substrate electrostatic plate formed on the substrate, and an actuating portion. The actuating portion comprises a cantilever anchor formed on the substrate and a cantilevered actuator arm extending from the cantilever anchor. Attraction of the actuator arm toward the substrate brings an electrical contact into engagement with the portions of the transmission line separated by a gap, thus bridging the transmission line gap and closing the circuit. In order to maximize electrical isolation between the transmission line and the electrical contact in an OFF-state while maintaining a low actuation voltage, the actuator arm is bent such that the minimum separation distance between the transmission line and the electrical contact is equal to or greater than the maximum separation distance between the substrate electrostatic plate and arm electrostatic plate.