NEM Relay: Electrostatic Pull-In & Contact Hysteresis

A nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay is a spring-suspended cantilever electrode that a gate voltage pulls down onto a fixed contact, closing a circuit purely by mechanical touch rather than by modulating a semiconductor channel — which is why its OFF-state leakage is essentially zero. This simulator drives a real one: raise the gate voltage and watch the beam deflect smoothly until it crosses the electrostatic pull-in instability at x = g₀/3 and snaps the rest of the way shut, then lower the voltage and watch it stay stuck closed — held by both the residual electrostatic force and van der Waals/capillary adhesion — until the voltage drops well below the pull-in threshold. Adjustable spring stiffness, rest gap and adhesion strength let you explore the full pull-in/release hysteresis loop, plotted live, including the stiction-locked failure mode that limits real device endurance.