Metal contact RF MEMS switch elements for ultra wideband RF front-end systems

Metal contact RF MEMS switch circuit elements have been developed to be used as building blocks for wideband signal routing. A switch element can have up to four switches fabricated monolithically on a single GaAs chip. More complicated switch circuits can be constructed by assembling multiple basic switch elements on a hybrid RF interconnection printed circuit board. In this paper, two basic types of switch functions are presented, single-pole multiple-throw switch elements and matrix switch elements. Measured insertion loss and isolation performances of these circuits are presented.