A novel electrothermally actuated RF MEMS switch for wireless applications

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Author(s)
Pal, Jitendra
Zhu, Yong
Lu, Junwei
Dao, Dzung Viet
Year published
2013
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This paper presents a new type of thermally actuated switch for wireless communication system operated at low gigahertz frequencies. The switch is driven by a metal electrothermal actuator, which can generate large displacement and high contact force at lower temperatures. The MEMS switch utilizing the parallel four-beam actuator requires driving voltage of 0.07 V for an 8 μm displacement. RF performances are improved by suspending the structure 25 μm from the substrate using MetalMumps process. An ON state insertion loss of -0.27 dB at 10 GHz and an OFF state isolation of -40 dB at 10 GHz are achieved on low resistivity ...
View more >This paper presents a new type of thermally actuated switch for wireless communication system operated at low gigahertz frequencies. The switch is driven by a metal electrothermal actuator, which can generate large displacement and high contact force at lower temperatures. The MEMS switch utilizing the parallel four-beam actuator requires driving voltage of 0.07 V for an 8 μm displacement. RF performances are improved by suspending the structure 25 μm from the substrate using MetalMumps process. An ON state insertion loss of -0.27 dB at 10 GHz and an OFF state isolation of -40 dB at 10 GHz are achieved on low resistivity silicon substrate.
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View more >This paper presents a new type of thermally actuated switch for wireless communication system operated at low gigahertz frequencies. The switch is driven by a metal electrothermal actuator, which can generate large displacement and high contact force at lower temperatures. The MEMS switch utilizing the parallel four-beam actuator requires driving voltage of 0.07 V for an 8 μm displacement. RF performances are improved by suspending the structure 25 μm from the substrate using MetalMumps process. An ON state insertion loss of -0.27 dB at 10 GHz and an OFF state isolation of -40 dB at 10 GHz are achieved on low resistivity silicon substrate.
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Conference Title
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2013 IEEE 8TH CONFERENCE ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS (ICIEA)
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Subject
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Power and Energy Systems Engineering (excl. Renewable Power)