Microstrip lateral RF MEMS switch integrated with multistep CPW transition

Abstract

Figure 3 shows the radiation patterns and cross-polarization lobes in the E-plane measured in a near-field laboratory. The radiation patterns show that the maximal side-lobe level is less than Ϫ15.5, Ϫ10.8, and Ϫ12.2 dB, respectively. The measured cross-polarization level is at least Ϫ44, Ϫ41, and Ϫ40 dB below the co-polarization at the three frequencies, respectively. CONCLUSIONA novel untitled edge-slotted waveguide array has been presented. A pair of shaped-irises is used to excite the slot. An array with 16 such elements has been simulated, fabricated, and measured. The simulated results agree well with measured ones. The experiment results show that the cross-polarization level is less than Ϫ40 dB and the bandwidth of this array is over 7% for VSWR Յ 1.5, thus verifying the validity of the new design. In addition, the untilted slotted waveguide array is of low loss. Therefore, its gain can be higher and therefore suitable for many radar applications. ABSTRACT: A new type of microstrip lateral metal-contacting micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) series switch using an enhanced transition-design technology is proposed and demonstrated. It uses a conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) connected to a microstrip back-to-back MEMS transmission line without any via holes or bonded wires. The RF measurements of this switch show an off-state isolation of 18 dB and an on-state insertion loss of less than 2 dB at 6 -27 GHz. In addition, the simplicity of this fabrication process is achieved using deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE), micromachining technology, and silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrate. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 44: 93-95, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley. com).ABSTRACT: An improved three-point finite-difference scheme is presented, which deals correctly with all terms up to 2 nd order in the expansion of the derivative, regardless of the existence of multiple dielectric interfaces between sample points. The improved differencing scheme is implemented into a 1D slab-mode solver for validation of accuracy and a 2D mode solver.

A Wet Etching Post-process for CMOS-MEMS RF Switches

“…For instance, Yao et al [2] presented a micromechanical capacitive membrane microwave switch, which switching voltage was about 50 V. Wang et al [3] fabricated a tunable RF MEMS switch on sapphire substrate with a barium strontium titanate (BST) dielectric. Liu et al [4] used deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE), micromachining technology and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate to manufacture a microstrip lateral RF MEMS switch. Coutu et al [5] proposed a MEMS metal contact switch using the metal alloys as the electric contact materials.…”

Lateral RF MEMS Switch Based on Surface Micromachining Process

“…So the switch in this paper is series, electrostatic drive and resistive contact (Au-Au). In addition, the switch is driven by combs with a lateral contact [3,4], different from the other electrostatic switches. The combs can augment the actuation area so as to increase the contact force and improve the RF power handling capability.…”