• DocumentCode
    950153
  • Title

    Radiation effects in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS): RF relays

  • Author

    McClure, Steven S. ; Edmonds, L.D. ; Mihailovich, R. ; Johnston, A.H. ; Alonzo, P. ; DeNatale, J. ; Lehman, J. ; Yui, C.

  • Author_Institution
    Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA, USA
  • Volume
    49
  • Issue
    6
  • fYear
    2002
  • fDate
    12/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    3197
  • Lastpage
    3202
  • Abstract
    GaAs micro-electromechanical RF relays fabricated by surface micromachining techniques were characterized for their response to total ionizing dose. Microrelays with two different geometries were studied. For one geometry, changes in switch actuation voltage at moderate dose levels were observed. For an alternative geometry, no change in actuation voltage was observed. A mechanism for dielectric charge trapping and its effect on the electrostatic force is proposed.
  • Keywords
    III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; micromachining; microrelays; radiation effects; GaAs; GaAs MEMS RF relay; dielectric charge trapping; electrostatic force; microelectromechanical system; microrelay; radiation effects; surface micromachining; switch actuation voltage; total ionizing dose; Gallium arsenide; Geometry; Microelectromechanical systems; Micromachining; Micromechanical devices; Radiation effects; Radio frequency; Relays; Switches; Voltage;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • ISSN
    0018-9499
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1109/TNS.2002.805406
  • Filename
    1134281