A MEMS-based charge pump

A micro-scale mechanical charge pump, cf., comprising a circuit of micromechanical resonant switches (a.k.a., resoswitches) has been demonstrated that generates 3V and 9V from 1V and 3V power supplies, respectively, using a 2-stage design; and 6V from 1V supply using a 5-stage design; all while avoiding the diode voltage drop and breakdown voltage limitations of conventional CMOS-based charge pumps. This MEMS-based charge pump additionally accepts a much wider input voltage range than semiconductor technology and obviates the need for custom high voltage CMOS for applications where large voltages are needed, e.g., MEMS-based timing references, thereby allowing the use of virtually any CMOS process for a wide variety of MEMS-based products.