Experimental dynamic trapping of electrostatically actuated bistable micro-beams

We demonstrate a dynamic snap-through from a primary to a secondary statically inaccessible stable configuration in single crystal silicon, curved, doubly clamped micromechanical beam structures. The nanoscale motion of the fabricated bistable micromechanical devices was transduced using a high speed camera. Our experimental and theoretical results collectively show that the transition between the two stable states was solely achieved by a tailored time dependent electrostatic actuation. Fast imaging of the micromechanical motion allowed for direct visualization of dynamic trapping at the statically inaccessible state. These results further suggest that our direct dynamic actuation transcends prevalent limitations in controlling geometrically non-linear microstructures, and may have applications extending to multi-stable, topologically optimized micromechanical logic and non-volatile memory architectures.