Revolutionizing Circuit Breakers with Ultra-Conductive MEMS-based Ideal Switch

Circuit breakers (CBs) have evolved from electro-mechanical designs dating back to the 1800s, but their basic architecture remains largely unchanged. Traditional electromechanical relays are bulky, slow, and unreliable, leading to significant thermal management issues. These CBs generate minimal heat due to low contact resistance but lack proper heat dissipation features, like heat sinks or airflow. To fit within existing panels, CBs must adhere to legacy form factors, limiting device installations to meet thermal resistance constraints. While transistor-based semiconductors addressed some challenges, inefficiencies and waste heat persist. Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch offers a disruptive solution, combining the benefits of electromechanical relays and solid-state switches. Its unique metal-to-metal contact design minimizes heat generation, extends battery life, and reduces total ownership costs, enabling significantly smaller, more powerful, and more efficient systems.