MEMS single-chip5×5 and 20×20 double-switch arrays for telecommunication networks

This paper reports on a microelectromechanical (MEMS) switch array with up to 20x20 double switches embedded and packaged on a single chip and utilized for automating main distribution frames in copper-wire telecommunication networks. The device includes 5x5 or 20x20 double-switches, allowing for an any-to-any interconnection of the specific input line to the specific output line. The switches are based on an electrostatic S-shaped film actuator with the switch contact moving between a top and a bottom electrode. The device is fabricated in two parts and is designed to be assembled using selective adhesive wafer bonding resulting in a wafer-scale package of the switch array. The packaged 5x5 switch arrays have a size of 6.7x6.4mm² and the 20x20 arrays are 14x10 mm² large. The switch actuation voltages for closing/opening the switches averaged over an array were measured to be 21.2 V / 15.3 V for the 5x5 array and 93.2 V / 37.3 V for the 20x20 array. The total switch impedance varies on the 5x5 array between 0.126 Omega and 0.564 Omega at a measurement current of 1 mA. The average resistance of the switch contacts within the 5x5 array was determined to be 0.216 Omega with a standard deviation of 0.155 Omega.