Lightweight Inertial Switch with Spiral Separation Mechanism for Extending Contact Time

This paper reports a novel MEMS inertial switch that can extend contact time by spiral separation after collision between the lightweight asymmetric spring mass block and the fixed electrode. Four fixed electrodes with different contact areas are designed to verify the above mechanism. The simulation results show that the lightweight asymmetric spring mass block undergoes spiral separation after collision at a threshold of 148g. The inertial switches fabricated by surface micromachining technology are tested using a drop hammer system. Both the simulation and test results indicate that switches with larger fixed electrode areas exhibit longer contact time, confirming the mechanism of extending contact time through spiral separation after collision.