Verfahren zum Herstellen eines mikromechanischen Relais

A micromechanical relay production process involves: (a) applying a sacrificial layer (26) onto a substrate (10) containing or bearing a stationary electrode (18); (b) applying and structuring a conductive layer (32) for defining a beam structure as a mobile counter-electrode (39) and applying a contact region (40) such that the conductive layer (32) extends between an anchoring region and the contact region (40) and is insulated from the contact region (40); and (c) etching away the sacrificial layer (26) to produce the beam structure with a mobile region and a region fixed to the substrate (10) by the anchoring region. USE - To produce a micromechanical electrostatic relay useful in battery-powered equipment, e.g. for wireless transmission in communications. ADVANTAGE - The process employs surface micromechanics technology instead of back-face etching so that the process is independent of the substrate material and is space-saving.