A LATERAL SYMMETRICALLY BISTABLE BUCKLED BEAM

We have micromachined a lateral symmetrically bistable buckled beam fo r snap-in holding structures by oxidizing released beams micromachined on thick silicon-on-insulator wafers. The wafers were prepared by bon ding and chemical mechanical polishing, and the structures were fabric ated by deep silicon reactive ion etching using the black silicon meth od, subsequently released and thermally oxidized. The bistability was monitored in situ in a scanning electron microscope using a micromanip ulator. Guidelines for designing beams of an expected performance are given and arguments for considering beams that are not 'fairly slender ' have been found.