Title :
Parallel-contact metal-contact RF-MEMS switches for high power applications
Author :
Nishijima, Noriyo ; Hung, Juo-Jung ; Rebeiz, Gabriel M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Abstract :
Electrostatically-actuated metal-contact RF MEMS switches have been designed, fabricated and tested with an aim of handling moderately high RF power (hundreds of mW to 1 W). The design strategy is: (i) the development of a switch element having good metal contacts and reliability without stiction problems under moderate actuation voltage (50-60 V), and (ii) the reduction of RF current through each contact by arranging several mechanically-independent switch elements in parallel. The developed switch element is a relatively wide and thick cantilever having two contacts and should have a contact force of 70 μN per each contact at an applied voltage of 60 V based on the simulation. The measured pull-down voltage of 40-50 V has been obtained. By placing several switch elements in parallel, the insertion loss can be greatly reduced, and a loss as low as 0.03 dB at 2 GHz is obtained for an 8-contact switch (i.e. 4 switch elements) with a corresponding isolation of 22 dB at 2 GHz.
Keywords :
electrostatic actuators; microactuators; microswitches; reliability; 0.03 dB; 2 GHz; 22 dB; 40 to 50 V; 50 to 60 V; RF MEMS switches; actuation voltage; electromechanical design; insertion loss; metal contact switches; metal contacts; parallel contact switches; radiofrequency microelectromechanical system switches; reliability; Application software; Contacts; Electrodes; Force measurement; Microswitches; Power semiconductor switches; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Springs; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2004. 17th IEEE International Conference on. (MEMS)
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8265-X
DOI :
10.1109/MEMS.2004.1290701