A Self-Powered Two-Terminal MEMS Based Relay with Advanced Control Functions

In this paper, the application of a micro-electromechanical switch (MEMS) as a power relay is presented. A local energy harvesting circuit is proposed to generate auxiliary power from the ac mains. The proposed circuit is suitable for two terminal switch operation. Further, gate drive and control logic to operate the in soft switching condition is proposed and presented in order to increase the device lifetime and reliability. Analytical and experimental results are presented to verify the proposed approach.