4.4.3 - A Low-Power Printed Flexible Lorentz Force MEMS Switch with Electrostatic Hold-down
- Event
- EUROSENSORS 2026
2026-09-06 - 2026-09-09
Zurich - Band
- Lectures
- Chapter
- Actuators
- Author(s)
- M. Meybodi, K. Nguyen, T. Chen, C. Shafai - University of Manitoba,Winnipeg (Canada)
- Pages
- 154 - 155
- DOI
- 10.5162/eurosensors2026/4.4.3
- ISBN
- 978-3-910600-12-6
- Price
- free
Abstract
This work presents a flexible, printed MEMS switch based on Lorentz force actuation with electrostatic hold-down. The Lorentz force drives the pull-down motion, while a low electrostatic force maintains the closed state, reducing power consumption. The device consists of a printed silver conductive layer on a polyimide substrate and is released using a plasma etching process. Simulation results show that a current of 120 mA produces approximately 110 µm displacement, enabling contact closure. The switch has a resonant frequency of 33 Hz and a spring constant of 0.018 N/m. Experimental results demonstrate switching operation and validate the proposed concept.