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:
Oct. 08, 2013
Filed:
Nov. 29, 2010
Gianluca Piazza, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Nipun Sinha, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Timothy S. Jones, Fort Worth, TX (US);
Zhijun Guo, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Graham E. Wabiszewski, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Robert Carpick, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Andre Dehon, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Gianluca Piazza, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Nipun Sinha, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Timothy S. Jones, Fort Worth, TX (US);
Zhijun Guo, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Graham E. Wabiszewski, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Robert Carpick, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Andre Dehon, Philadelphia, PA (US);
The Trustees Of The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for operating piezoelectric switches are disclosed. A piezoelectric switching system includes a first actuator, a second actuator, and a bias voltage source. The first actuator has a first body electrode, a first gate electrode, and a first contact region. The second actuator has a second body electrode, a second gate electrode, and a second contact region. The first and second contact regions are separated by a gap. The bias voltage source applies a bias voltage to the body electrodes. The bias voltage is lower in magnitude than an actuation voltage for the switch. The gate electrodes receive a switching voltage. The switching voltage causes at least one of the first and second actuators to bend, thereby closing the gap such that the second contact region electrically contacts the first contact region. The difference between the switching voltage and the bias voltage exceeds the actuation voltage of the switch.