A DC-Powered High-Voltage Generator using a Bulk Pt-Rh Oscillating Micro-Relay

Author

Udeshi, Kabir ; Gianchandani, Yogesh B.

Author_Institution

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor

fYear

2007

fDate

10-14 June 2007

Firstpage

1151

Lastpage

1154

Abstract

This paper reports a high voltage generator formed by the hybrid assembly of a micromachined relay and a wound-wire inductor or transformer. The relay is micro-electrodischarge machined from Pt-Rh bulk metal foil, and consists of a normally-closed switch that is part of a DC-powered electrothermal relaxation oscillator. The use of this material permits the relay to be operated in air, without the need for inert packaging. It also provides a resistance of <2 Omega (including both the actuator and the contact), which makes it amenable to low drive voltages. Using an input of 5 V and a 56 mH transformer with a turns-ratio of 46, peak pulsed outputs of 1200 V are obtained. A DC output of 276.5 V is obtained for an output power of 76 mW.

Keywords

microrelays; relaxation oscillators; transformers; DC-powered electrothermal relaxation oscillator; DC-powered high-voltage generator; Pt-Rh bulk metal; micromachined relay; power 76 mW; transformer; voltage 276.5 V; wound-wire inductor; Assembly; Contact resistance; Electrothermal effects; Hybrid power systems; Inductors; Microrelays; Oscillators; Packaging machines; Relays; Switches; Bulk metal; Electro-thermal actuator; Power conversion; Relaxation oscillator;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2007. TRANSDUCERS 2007. International

Conference_Location

Lyon

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0842-3

Electronic_ISBN

1-4244-0842-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SENSOR.2007.4300339

Filename

4300339