Theoretical and experimental investigations on failure mechanisms occuring during long-term cycling of electrostatic actuators

We present an extensive study on dielectric charging effects, one of the major problems that limit the reliability of electrostatically actuated microdevices (such as the RF MEMS switches considered here) and, thus, their way into a broad commercial application. For the first time, we are able to provide quantitative statements on the amount of charge injected into the dielectric layers. They result from monitoring the long-term evolution of the switching voltages of the DUT recorded by a novel, on-purpose developed measurement setup, which enables also temperature-dependent investigations. Furthermore, the origin of the parasitic charges, their impact on the switching operation and measures to remove them from the dielectric layers could be identified.