Abstract
This study presents a systematic design methodology to accomplish a compliant bistable micromechanism. The decision of the bistable behavior, the stresses of elastic members, the actuating force, the dynamic characteristics, and the springs are all analyzed, and a set of assumptions is arrived at that simplifies the calculations to design the micromechanism. Simulations are then carried out to verify the calculations and to identify the influence of the errors due to simplification. In addition, the particular dynamic characteristics of bistable mechanisms are derived, simulated, and subjected to experimentation. The experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the designs, the calculations and the simulations. The effects of tuning the parameters of the micromechanism are also illustrated clearly. Through tuning the parameters, one can create a compliant bistable mechanism which can perform the desired functions. A compliant bistable micromechanism is applicable to the switching device of MEMS. The applications of microrelay and micromirror positioner are specifically addressed. The devices for the relative experiments are fabricated by MUMPs® provided by MEMSCAP; the experiments are carried out and the results discussed.