Hardware Podcasts

Ep. 45 | The "Ideal Switch"? GE's Spinoff, Menlo Micro, Looks to Disrupt the Power Industry

Moore's Lobby · 10 May 2022 · 56m · Episode 5

What this episode covers

Chris Keimel, CTO and co-founder of Menlo Micro, explains the development of the 'Ideal Switch,' a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) relay that originated from a decade-long research effort at GE Global Research Center. He details the material science innovations, such as specialized alloys and glass substrates, that allowed the team to overcome early failures where relays were 'blowing up' under power loads. Keimel describes the decision to spin out from GE in 2016 to commercialize the technology, focusing on scaling production and achieving the 'rule of 99' for efficiency in both RF and power applications.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Menlo Micro, General Electric, Corning
Products
MEMS, Ideal Switch

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