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ABSTRACT: This paper presents a novel mechanical design applied to RF MEMS miniature capacitors. The main idea is to take benefit of superior structural material properties in order to enhance both switching speeds and reliability of RF MEMS components. As a proof of concept, miniature micro-beams fabricated from a composite multilayer assembly have demonstrated switching time lower than 50 ns. To our knowledge, it is the first time that such switching speed reconfiguration is shown on RF MEMS structure. Such performance has been possible by using a nanogap electrostatic actuators combined 4 MHz mechanical structures. Several RF MEMS switched capacitors have been fabricated with capacitance ratio between 2.4 to 2.8.
Microwave Symposium Digest (MTT), 2010 IEEE MTT-S International; 06/2010
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ABSTRACT: This paper reports the comparisons between several pairs of contact materials for micro switches. This study is done with a new methodology using a commercial nanoindenter coupled with electrical stimulation of test vehicles specially designed. The stability of the contact resistance, when the contact force increases, is studied for contact pairs of soft (Au/Au contact), harder (Ru/Ru contact) and mixed material configuration (Au/Ru contact). An enhanced stability of the bimetallic contact Au/Ru was demonstrated considering the sensitivity to power increase, and related topological modifications of the contact surfaces.
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2010 IEEE 23rd International Conference on; 02/2010
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ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new mechanical architecture for RF MEMS components that are able to achieve reconfiguration faster than conventional MEMS switches. For most MEMS switches, the electrical switching speed is generally limited to a few microseconds, inherently restricted by the delay required to mechanically move their mobile membrane up and down. By using a proper mechanical design and the structural material fabrication process, this paper will show miniature bridges that are able to exhibit mechanical resonance frequencies over 10 MHz range to be compared to the few tens of kHz for conventional RF MEMS switches. As a result, the switching speed of these miniature components is greatly improved and reaches 50 to 100 ns. Such performance has been achieved using composite micro-beams based on the multilayer material assembly of alumina/aluminum/alumina. To our knowledge, this is the fastest switching speed reported for RF MEMS components so far.
Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.
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Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.
