MICRO-ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM BASED ELECTRIC MOTOR STARTER

摘要

A micro-electromechanical system based electric motor starter is provided to perform fast current limiting and achieve a low let-through current during fault conditions, which is, substantially lower than a conventional motor-protecting technology, such as current limiting fuses or circuit breakers. An MEMS(micro-electromechanical system) based electric motor starter(18) includes an MEMS based switching circuitry and an over current protection circuitry. The MEMS based switching circuitry includes one or more MEMS switches. A first MEMS switch(20) includes a first contact(22), a second contact(24), and a third contact(26). The first contact serves as a drain. The second contact serves as a source. The third contact serves as a gate. A voltage snubber circuit(33) is coupled in parallel with the MEMS switch and limits voltage overshoot during fast contact separation.