Title :
RF MEMS for ubiquitous wireless connectivity. Part II. Application
Author :
De Los Santos, H.J. ; Fischer, G. ; Tilmans, H.A.C. ; van Beek, J.T.M.
Author_Institution :
NanoMEMS Res., LLC, Irvine, CA, USA
Abstract :
This paper reports on RF-MEMS switchable capacitors, varactors, and ohmic switch technology attribute for both base stations and handsets in realizing frequency-agile RF/wireless systems capable of serving multiple frequency bands. For the handset, this leads to a smaller footprint combined with low power consumption of the RF radio. For the base station the benefit lies in ability for reconfiguration of the air interface, which leads to high logistical savings for infrastructure vendors through a reduction in the number of product variants. Reconfigurable frequency-agile radios are a perfect addition to reconfigurable baseband processing. Both together form the basis of a realistic and reasonable approach to realize software radios.
Keywords :
frequency agility; micromechanical devices; mobile handsets; software radio; RF MEMS; RF radio; base stations; low power consumption; mobile handsets; ohmic switch technology; reconfigurable baseband processing; reconfigurable frequency-agile radios; software radios; switchable capacitors; ubiquitous wireless connectivity; varactors; Base stations; Baseband; Capacitors; Energy consumption; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Switches; Telephone sets; Ubiquitous computing; Varactors;
Journal_Title :
Microwave Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MMW.2004.1380278