EE Times: MEMS Heralds an Overdue Step Change in Switching Technology

EE Times: MEMS Heralds an Overdue Step Change in Switching Technology - July 8, 2026

AI is not only a prime example of technological advancement itself, but it also accelerates the pace of change across multiple industries by helping develop new technologies while enabling existing ones to perform more effectively.

However, there is at least one area of industry that historically has not kept up with those advances, and that is electromechanical devices, especially relays and circuit breakers.

There, very little change has been seen until now, creating an opportunity to improve outcomes for both designers and end users.

Relays and circuit breakers: A long history of incremental change

It is nearly two centuries since Joseph Henry first developed the electromechanical relay, and today’s devices operate on much the same principles.

Relays are still bulky and need a constant current to keep them in their actuated state. Like all other mechanical devices, they are prone to wear and tear with frequent use, and their switching speed is very limited, especially in the context of today’s electronic systems.

The switching itself can generate electrical noise that can interfere with sensitive signals and be prone to bouncing and arcing.

The only real notable advancement since the invention of the electromechanical relay came over half a century ago, when Crydom Controls invented the solid-state relay in 1971.

Solid-state relays are electronic switches that use semiconductor materials instead of mechanical contacts used in electromechanical relays. These devices eliminated some of the drawbacks of their electromechanical counterparts—they suffered no wear and tear, generated no noise, didn’t exhibit arcing, and they actuated much faster.

However, solid-state relays still suffer from significant downsides, including the inherent resistance that is found in semiconductor materials, making them inefficient and leading to the generation of unwanted heat.

That heat then needs to be managed, usually by incorporating bulky heat sinks into the design. This makes the overall solution substantially larger and much heavier than it needs to be.

Finally, the actuation of solid-state relays needs a constant current, which leads to greater energy consumption.

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