Development of a Dual-SPDT RF-MEMS switch for Ku-band

Author

Yamane, Daisuke ; Sun, Winston ; Fujita, Hiroyuki ; Toshiyoshi, Hiroshi ; Kawasaki, Shigeo

Author_Institution

Inst. of Ind. Sci., Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

fYear

2010

fDate

10-14 Jan. 2010

Firstpage

432

Lastpage

435

Abstract

This paper presents the design, fabrication method and measurement results on a low-loss Ohmic-contact RF-MEMS switch with a bi-lateral actuation for a Dual-SPDT switching system. The switch was fabricated based on the silicon bulk-micromachining technology and a layer-wise technique on an SOI wafer. We demonstrated a compatibility with electroplating and high aspect-ratio Deep-RIE process to have loss-less quasi-air-suspended MEMS waveguides and adequately thick gold layer for side-wall ohmic contact. Typical performance shows 0.56 dB insertion loss, 19.4 dB return loss and 51.4 dB isolation at the Ku-band frequency of 12 GHz.

Keywords

coplanar transmission lines; coplanar waveguides; delay lines; electroplating; gold; microactuators; micromachining; microswitches; microwave switches; ohmic contacts; silicon; silicon-on-insulator; sputter etching; SOI wafer; Si-Au; bilateral actuation; coplanar transmission lines; delay-lines; dual-SPDT RF-MEMS switch; electroplating; frequency 12 GHz; high aspect-ratio deep-RIE process; layer-wise technique; loss-less quasiair-suspended MEMS waveguides; low-loss Ohmic-contact RF-MEMS; silicon bulk-micromachining technology; single-pole-double-throw structure; thick gold layer; Design methodology; Fabrication; Gold; Isolation technology; Micromechanical devices; Ohmic contacts; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Silicon; Switches; Switching systems; Coplanar transmission lines; delay-lines; microelectromechanical devices; silicon on insulator technology; switches;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS), 2010 IEEE

Conference_Location

New Orleans, LA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4725-1

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-4726-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/RWS.2010.5434208

Filename

5434208