Optical Measurement of the Dynamic Contact Process of a MEMS Inertial Switch Under High Shock Loads

In order to characterize the dynamic and microscopic contact process of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) inertial switch under high shock loads, a high-speed camera-based optical measurement system was developed. The optical measurement system was successfully employed to visualize and characterize the responding motion of the proof mass and the contact process with the flexible electrodes. In particular, the contact process in a flexible and a rigid mode was compared to investigate the mechanisms of using flexible electrodes to extend the contact time. The constraint performance of the limiting post of the switch was demonstrated as well. Furthermore, the optical results were in fairly good agreement with the results of electrical measurement and numerical predictions.