A Review of Micro-Contact Physics for Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Metal Contact Switches

Innovations in relevant micro-contact areas are highlighted, these include, design, contact resistance modeling, contact materials, performance and reliability. For each area the basic theory and relevant innovations are explored. A brief comparison of actuation methods is provided to show why electrostatic actuation is most commonly used by radio frequency microelectromechanical systems designers. An examination of the important characteristics of the contact interface such as modeling and material choice is discussed. Micro-contact resistance models based on plastic, elastic-plastic and elastic deformations are reviewed. Much of the modeling for metal contact micro-switches centers around contact area and surface roughness. Surface roughness and its effect on contact area is stressed when considering micro-contact resistance modeling. Finite element models and various approaches for describing surface roughness are compared. Different contact materials to include gold, gold alloys, carbon nanotubes, composite gold-carbon nanotubes, ruthenium, ruthenium oxide, as well as tungsten have been shown to enhance contact performance and reliability with distinct trade offs for each. Finally, a review of physical and electrical failure modes witnessed by researchers are detailed and examined

An easy to control all-metal in-line-series ohmic RF MEMS switch

Copyright @ 2010 Springer-VerlagThe analysis, design and simulation of a novel easy to control all-metal in-line-series ohmic RF MEMS switch is presented, for applications where the operating frequency ranges from DC to 4 GHz. The proposed switch, due to its unique shape and size, assures high isolation and great linearity fulfilling the necessary requirements as concerns loss, power handling and power consumption. Simplicity has been set as the key success factor implying robustness and high fabrication yield. On the other hand, the specially designed cantilever-shape (hammerhead) allows distributed actuation force ensuring high controllability as well as reliability making the presented RF MEMS switch one of its kind

Analysis and design of an all metal in line series ohmic RF MEMS switch for microwave applications

Copyright © 2010 IEEE. Reprinted from IEEE Conference Proceedings. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Brunel University's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.Abstract: - This paper presents the analysis, design and simulation of an all metal in line series ohmic RF MEMS switch. The proposed switch is indented to be used in the frequency range between DC and 10GHz. The switching characteristics of the proposed switch fulfill all the requirements as concerns loss, isolation, linearity, power handling and small size/power consumption. The specific design of the cantilever (hammerhead) and the distributed actuation force ensure the reliability and the controllability of the switch and the relatively simple design (all metal) the robustness and high fabrication yield

Wafer-level packaged RF-MEMS switches fabricated in a CMOS fab

Reports on wafer-level packaged RF-MEMS switches fabricated in a commercial CMOS fab. Switch fabrication is based on a metal surface micromachining process. A novel wafer-level packaging scheme is developed, whereby the switches are housed in on-chip sealed cavities using benzocyclobutene (BCB) as the bonding and sealing material. Measurements show that the influence of the wafer-level package on the RF performance can be made very small.\ud \u

Performance Comparison of Phase Change Materials and Metal-Insulator Transition Materials for Direct Current and Radio Frequency Switching Applications

Advanced understanding of the physics makes phase change materials (PCM) and metal-insulator transition (MIT) materials great candidates for direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF) switching applications. In the literature, germanium telluride (GeTe), a PCM, and vanadium dioxide (VO2), an MIT material have been widely investigated for DC and RF switching applications due to their remarkable contrast in their OFF/ON state resistivity values. In this review, innovations in design, fabrication, and characterization associated with these PCM and MIT material-based RF switches, have been highlighted and critically reviewed from the early stage to the most recent works. We initially report on the growth of PCM and MIT materials and then discuss their DC characteristics. Afterwards, novel design approaches and notable fabrication processes; utilized to improve switching performance; are discussed and reviewed. Finally, a brief vis-á-vis comparison of resistivity, insertion loss, isolation loss, power consumption, RF power handling capability, switching speed, and reliability is provided to compare their performance to radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) switches; which helps to demonstrate the current state-of-the-art, as well as insight into their potential in future applications

On the Trade-Off Between Quality Factor and Tuning Ratio in Tunable High-Frequency Capacitors

A benchmark of tunable and switchable devices at microwave frequencies is presented on the basis of physical limitations to show their potential for reconfigurable cellular applications. Performance limitations are outlined for each given technology focusing on the quality factor (Q) and tuning ratio (eta) as figures of merit. The state of the art in terms of these figures of merit of several tunable and switchable technologies is visualized and discussed. If the performance of these criteria is not met, the application will not be feasible. The quality factor can typically be traded off for tuning ratio. The benchmark of tunable capacitor technologies shows that transistor-switched capacitors, varactor diodes, and ferroelectric varactors perform well at 2 GHz for tuning ratios below 3, with an advantage for GaAs varactor diodes. Planar microelectromechanical capacitive switches have the potential to outperform all other technologies at tuning ratios higher than 8. Capacitors based on tunable dielectrics have the highest miniaturization potential, whereas semiconductor devices benefit from the existing manufacturing infrastructure

Robust Design of RF-MEMS Cantilever Switches Using Contact Physics Modeling

This paper presents the robust design optimization of an RF-MEMS direct contact cantilever switch for minimum actuation voltage and opening time, and maximum power handling capability. The design variables are the length and thickness of the entire cantilever, the widths of the sections of the cantilever, and the dimple size. The actuation voltage is obtained using a 3-D structural-electrostatic finite-element method (FEM) model, and the opening time is obtained using the same FEM model and the experimental model of adhesion at the contact surfaces developed in our previous work. The model accounts for an unpredictable variance in the contact resistance resulting from the micromachining process for the estimation of the power handling. This is achieved by taking the ratio of the root mean square power of the RF current (signal") passing through the switch to the contact temperature ("noise") resulting from the possible range of the contact resistance. The resulting robust optimization problem is solved using a Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm, to obtain design alternatives exhibiting different tradeoffs among the three objectives. The results show that there exists substantial room for improved designs of RF-MEMS direct-contact switches. It also provides a better understanding of the key factors contributing to the performances of RF-MEMS switches. Most importantly, it provides guidance for further improvements of RF-MEMS switches that exploit complex multiphysics phenomena.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87274/4/Saitou7.pd

RF-MEMS switches for a full control of the propagating modes in uniplanar microwave circuits and their application to reconfigurable multimodal microwave filters

This is a copy of the author 's final draft version of an article published in the journal Microsystem technologies. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00542-017-3379-8In this paper, new RF-MEMS switch configurations are proposed to enable control of the propagating (even and odd) modes in multimodal CPW transmission structures. Specifically, a switchable air bridge (a switchable short-circuit for the CPW odd mode) and switchable asymmetric shunt impedances (for transferring energy between modes) are studied and implemented using bridge-type and cantilever-type ohmic-contact switches, respectively. The switchable air bridge is based in a novel double ohmic-contact bridge-type structure. Optimized-shape suspension configurations, namely folded-beam or diagonal-beam for bridge-type switches, and straight-shaped or semicircular-shaped for cantilever-type switches, are used to obtain robust structures against fabrication-stress gradients. The switches are modelled using a coupled-field 3D finite-element mechanical analysis showing a low to moderate pull-in voltage. The fabricated switches are experimentally characterized using S-parameter and DC measurements. The measured pull-in voltages agree well with the simulated values. From S-parameter measurements, an electrical model with a very good agreement for both switch states (ON and OFF) has been obtained. The model is used in the design of reconfigurable CPW multimodal microwave filters.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft