MEMS switches

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microswitches are receiving increasing attention, particularly in the RF community. Low power consumption, low insertion loss, high isolation, excellent linearity, and the ability to be integrated with other electronics all make microswitches an attractive alternative to other mechanical and solid-state switches. This article features a newly developed, surface micromachined, electrostatically actuated direct metal-to-metal microswitch which can be used in applications from dc through microwave.