Quasi-static C-V measurements on RF MEMS test structures

This work analyzes the main aspects related to long term electro-mechanical measurements on RF MEMS switches fabricated for DC to 30GHz; the fabrication process, design, and adopted experimental procedures have been also described in details. Particular attention has been dedicated to the stress effect for studies to different behavior due to applied electric fiel

Electromechanical characterization of low actuation voltage RF MEMS capacitive switches based on DC CV measurements

This paper reports on the enhancements introduced into the ITC-irst RF MEMS multi-user fabrication process, which have been assessed by means of the electromechanical characterization of a set of test structures consisting of low actuation voltage capacitive switches. A simple quasistatic CV measurement has been used to extract the switch capacitance in both the on and off states (Con and Coff) and the voltage needed for the actuation of the different designs. The devices under test use folded serpentine springs and large area actuation electrodes to decrease the pull-in voltage. The spring constant of the suspensions is used to control the actuation voltage of the different designs with a slight increase of the overall size and without affecting the switching performance at higher frequencies. The introduction of a floating metal layer into the flow of the fabrication process has allowed a great increase in the off state capacitances, getting Coff/Con ratios up to 10 times greater than the ones obtained for the same structures without this feature

Symmetric Toggle Switch - A New type of RF MEMS Switch for Telecommunication Applications

In this paper we present a new type of RF MEMS switch, for low actuation voltage, high RF power and high reliability applications in telecommunication. ‘Symmetric Toggle Switch’ (STS) is based on push – pull mechanism and utilizes torsion springs and levers, placed symmetrically and transverse to CPW RF signal line. The switches designed for 3 to 10 GHz pplications have analytically calculated and FEM simulated actuation voltages in the range of 5 to 10 volts. The EM simulated insertion loss and isolation for devices (in fabrication) are 0.25 dB and 27 dB respectively at 5 GH

On-wafer electro-mechanical characterization of silicon MEMS switches

The feasibility of integrating the RF MEMS switeches in space and wireless communication systems has generated tremendous interest in related design, fabrication and characterization methodologies. The space applications make long term reliability of the devices a very pertinent issue and involves both the process and device characterization. In this paper we describe the experimental stup and measurement results on RF MEMS switches fabricated for DC to 30GHz applications. The on-wafer experimental setup, based on standard manual microprobe station provides dual pulse actuation voltage waveforms with programmable period and amplitude, ranging from 10-5 to 1sec and 0-200 volts respectively. The usefulness of the dual-pulse testing is demonstrated by the minimal charge generation in the dielectric layer and capacitance measurements with negligible variations over long measurement period

A Silicon Based MEMS Technology for Electro-statically Actuated SPDT RF Switches

There is an increasing interest of space industries towards the MEMS devices, which already found several applications in other sectors. The potential benefits from the use of those devices are good electrical performances, power savings, small size. This article describes a silicon technology used for the development of MEMS RF switches. The choice of a well established technology helps maintaining competitive manufacturing costs. The electrical and mechanical designs make use of FDTD / TLM and ANSYS simulation tools respectively. The test results of the first wafer run are also presente

Symmetric toggle switch—a new type of rf MEMS switch for telecommunication applications: Design and fabrication

In this paper, we present a new type of rf MEMS switch with low actuation voltage and high isolation, for high rf power and reliability applications in telecommunication. ‘Symmetric toggle switch’ (STS) is based on push–pull mechanism and utilizes torsion springs and levers, placed symmetrically and transverse to CPW line. The switches designed for 8–14 GHz applications have analytically calculated and FEM simulated actuation voltages in the range of 8–10 V. The simulated insertion loss and isolation for the devices are 0.25 and 35 dB, respectively, at 10 GHz. The fabrication process and preliminary experimental results are also presented