RF MEMS switches fabricated on microwave-laminate printed circuit boards

A novel fabrication process has been developed for directly constructing radio frequency microelectrical mechanical systems (RF MEMS) capacitive switches on microwave-laminate printed circuit boards (PCBs). The integrated process uses metal wet etching to form the metal lines for coplanar waveguides, compressive molding planarization (COMP) to planarize uneven surface heights for switch membrane formation, and high-density, inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDICP-CVD) for low-temperature silicon nitride deposition. This technology promises the potential of further monolithic integration with antennas on the same PCBs to form reconfigurable antennas without the concerns of mismatching among components.