Abstract

Background: Switches are important component in electrical system. The switches needs to have the advantages of low ON-state resistance, very high OFF-state resistance, high isolation, no leakage current, less power loss, fast switching, high linearity, small size, arcless and low cost in bulk production. Also these switches have to be reliable and environmental friendly.

Methods: In this paper, macro and microswitches for power applications are extensively reviewed and summarized. Various types of switches such as mechanical, solid-state, hybrid and micromechanical switches have been used for power applications are reviewed. The importance and challenge in achieving arcless switching is presented.

Results: The use of micromechanical switches for power applications, actuation techniques, switching modes, reliability and lifetime are also reviewed. The modeling and design challenges are also reviewed.

Conclusion: The applications of micromechanical switches shows that the switches can reduce the leakage current in battery operated systems and reduce the size of the system considerably.

Keywords: Mechanical switches, solid-state switches, micromechanical switches, arc, modeling, electrostatic actuation.

Graphical Abstract