Microassembled tunable MEMS inductor

In this work we present a heterogeneous microassembly consisting of a MEMS translation stage, a copper electroplated solenoid inductor, and a ferromagnetic NiFe core, integrated on a Pyrex sub-mount. The system was assembled by a 5 degree-of-freedom automated motion control platform using hybrid MEMS assembly technology and a design library of silicon microgrippers, sockets and handles. The tunable inductor was characterized using various core materials from 300 kHz to 20 GHz and has a self-resonant frequency (SRF) of 10 GHz, a Q over 50, and inductance values from 5.5 to 40 nH over its useful frequency range. A nanomagnetic composite material containing Co_83.2B_3.3Si_5.9Mn_7.6 exhibited continuous enhancement in inductance and Q up to the self-resonant frequency of the device. The device operates on 7 volts and consumes no quiescent power once it is tuned, due to the power-off engage mechanism incorporated in the translation stage.