Micro-mechanical electrostatic relay with slotted spring tongue surface

摘要

The armature spring tongue is formed by selective etching of a doped Si layer with an oxide and a nitride layer on its underside producing compressive and expansive tensions respectively.The oxide layer (41) is subdivided longitudinally into strips (22) by slots (21) whose number in conjunction with the width of the strips can be chosen to compensate for the tendency to become bowed in the transverse direction. The nitride layer (42) covering the strips and also the walls and floors of the slots increases the compensation effect.