A Cantilever Type Bistable MEM Nonvolatile Memory with Piezoelectric Deactuation for High-Temperature Applications

This paper reports a mechanism of introducing bistability in the cantilever switch for the microelectromechanical system based non-volatile memory (MEMS-NVM). The bistability in cantilever switch is a fine play of adhesion and restoring force. The innovation lies in the adopted method to control the switch contact adhesion force. The prototype MEM-NVM imbeds piezoelectric slabs, which on biasing alters the surface roughness and thus the adhesion force. The prototype bistable cantilever switch is fabricated and tested for its bistability and memory applications. The obtained SET/RESET voltages, to toggle in two logic states is 10 volts at ~250 °C. The memory SET/RESET time is ~1μs. The idea is not limited to non-volatile memories but can be extended to any of the adhesion failed MEMS devices.