A MEMS device fabricated from a single multi-layered wafer, which
alleviates the alignment problem associated with a two-piece prior-art
design. In one embodiment, the MEMS device has a stationary part and a
movable part rotatably coupled to the stationary part. The stationary
part has an electrode and a first conducting structure electrically
isolated from the electrode. The movable part has a rotatable plate and a
second conducting structure located on the plate and electrically
connected to the plate. The mass and location of the second conducting
structure are selected such as to compensate for the plate's imbalance
with respect to the rotation axis. In addition, at the rest position, the
first and second conducting structures form, around the electrode, a
substantially continuous barrier adapted to provide electrical shielding
for the electrode. The movable part is adapted to rotate with respect to
the stationary part in response to a voltage applied between the second
conducting structure and the electrode such that the movable part cannot
come into physical contact with the electrode during the rotation, which
alleviates the snap-down problem inherent to many prior-art devices.