A zero-power plasmonic microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device is capable of specifically sensing electromagnetic radiation and performing signal processing operations. Such devices are highly sensitive relays that consume no more than 10 nW of power, utilizing the energy in detected electromagnetic radiation to detect and discriminate a target without the need of any additional power source. The devices can continuously monitor an environment and wake up an electronic circuit upon detection of a specific trigger signature of electromagnetic radiation, such as vehicular exhaust, gunfire, an explosion, a fire, a human or animal, and a variety of sources of radiation from the ultraviolet to visible light, to infrared, to terahertz radiation.

A method of operating a mechanical switching device is disclosed. The switching device includes a housing, an assembly disposed in the housing, and a body. The assembly is thermally deformable and comprises a beam held in two different places by two arms secured to edges of the housing. The beam is remote from the body in a first configuration and in contact with and immobilized by the body in a second configuration. The assembly has the first configuration at a first temperature and the second configuration when one of the arms has a second temperature different from the first temperature. The method includes exposing an arm of the assembly to the second temperature, and releasing the beam using a release mechanism. The release mechanism includes a pointed element comprising a pointed region directed towards the body. The pointed element limits an open crater in a concave part of a projection.

A stacked semiconductor structure includes a first substrate. A multilayer interconnect is disposed over the first substrate. Metal sections are disposed over the multilayer interconnect. First bonding features are over the metal sections. A second substrate has a front surface. A cavity extends from the front surface into a depth D in the second substrate. A movable structure is disposed over the front surface of the second substrate and suspending over the cavity. The movable structure includes a dielectric membrane, metal units over the dielectric membrane and a cap dielectric layer over the metal units. Second bonding features are over the cap dielectric layer and bonded to the first bonding features. The second bonding features extend through the cap dielectric layer and electrically coupled to the metal units.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches are disclosed. The MEMS switch may have an actuation voltage greater than the expected voltage of a signal being passed by the MEMS switch in normal operation. The MEMS switches may include a distributed hinge structure in some embodiments. Radial contact pads are included in some embodiments, with or separate from the distributed hinge.

A method for detecting orientation of an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method includes moving, in response to a gravitational force, a mobile metallic piece in an evolution zone of a housing. The housing is formed in an interconnect region of the integrated circuit. The housing includes walls defining the evolution zone. The walls are formed within multiple metallization levels of the interconnect region. The walls include a floor wall and a ceiling wall. At least one of the floor wall and ceiling wall incorporate a pointed element directing its pointed region towards the mobile metallic piece. The pointed element delimits an open crater in a concave part of a projection. The method further includes creating an electrical signal by movement of the mobile metallic piece at a plurality of electrically conducting elements positioned at boundary points of the evolution zone and detecting the electrical signal by a detector.

An electrostatic actuator includes a base, a movable electrode including a semiconductor and supported to the base to be displaceable in a first direction, and a fixed electrode including the semiconductor and fixed to the base, in which the fixed electrode faces the movable electrode in a state of being separated therefrom in the first direction. The electrostatic actuator includes a high-resistance region formed in at least a portion of each of respective facing surfaces of the movable electrode and the fixed electrode, and lower in impurity concentration than a surrounding region thereof.

A micro-relay switch array may comprise an array of micro-relays disposed on a substrate, and a cap disposed over the array of micro-relays, thereby encapsulating the array of micro-relays. The micro-relay switch array may further comprise an array of through-substrate vias (TSVs) associated with the array of micro-relays, arranged such that columns of TSVs alternate with columns of micro-relays, and a plurality of device electrical conductors, each of which electrically couples one of the TSVs of the array of TSVs directly to at least two of the micro-relays. The micro-relay switch array may further comprise a plurality of TSV electrical conductors, each of which electrically couples at least two TSVs together. Each micro-relay of the array of micro-relays may be a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) switch. The substrate and cap may be glass, and the TSVs may be through-glass vias.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is proposed a capacitive radiofrequency MicroElectroMechanical System or capacitive RF MEMS comprising a metallic membrane suspended above an RF transmission line and resting on ground planes, and exhibiting a lower face, an upper face opposite to the lower face and a first layer comprising a refractory metallic material at least partially covering the upper face of the membrane so as to prevent the heating of the membrane.

Techniques, systems, and devices are described for implementing for implementing computation devices and artificial neurons based on nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) systems. In one aspect, a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) based computing element includes: a substrate; two electrodes configured as a first beam structure and a second beam structure positioned in close proximity with each other without contact, wherein the first beam structure is fixed to the substrate and the second beam structure is attached to the substrate while being free to bend under electrostatic force. The first beam structure is kept at a constant voltage while the other voltage varies based on an input signal applied to the NEMS based computing element.

According to various embodiments, a MEMS device includes a substrate, an electrically movable heating element having a first node coupled to a first terminal of a first voltage source and the second node coupled to a reference voltage source, a first anchor anchoring the first node and a second anchor anchoring the second node of the electrically movable heating element to the substrate, and a cavity between the first anchor and the second anchor and between the electrically movable heating element and the substrate.