Inline capacitive and DC-contact MEMS shunt switches

This paper presents inline capacitive MEMS shunt switches suitable for X/K-band and Ka/V-band applications. The inline switch allows for a low- or high-inductance connection to the ground plane without changing the mechanical characteristics of the MEMS bridge. Excellent isolation and loss are achieved with this design, and the performance is very similar to the standard capacitive MEMS shunt switch. Also, a new metal-to-metal contact MEMS shunt switch is presented. A novel pull-down electrode is used which applies the electrostatic force at the same location as the metal-to-metal contact area. A contact resistance of 0.15-0.35 Ω is repeatable, and results in an isolation of -40 dB at 0.1-3 GHz. The measured isolation is still better than -20 dB at 40 GHz. The application areas are in high-isolation/low-loss switches for telecommunication and radar systems     

RF MEMS开关的设计分析

针对具有低损耗、高隔离度性能的微机电系统(Micro-Electro-Mechanical System,MEMS)开关,介绍了串联DC式和并联电容式的开关结构模型,并对并联电容式MEMS开关的工作原理、等效电路模型和制造工艺流程进行了描述,利用其模型研究了开关的微波传输性能,设计了一款电容耦合式开关并进行了仿真。由仿真结果可得,开关"开态"时的插入损耗在40 GHz以内优于-0.3 dB;开关"关态"时的隔离度在20～40 GHz相对较宽的频带内优于-20 dB。     

W-band CPW RF MEMS circuits on quartz substrates

This paper presents W-band coplanar waveguide RF microelectromechanical system (MEMS) capacitive shunt switches with very low insertion loss (-0.2 to -0.5 dB) and high-isolation (/spl les/ -30 dB) over the entire W-band frequency range. It is shown that full-wave electromagnetic modeling using Sonnet can predict the performance of RF MEMS switches up to 120 GHz. Also presented are W-band 0/spl deg//90/spl deg/ and 0/spl deg//180/spl deg/ switched-line phase shifters with very good insertion loss (1.75 dB/bit at 90 GHz) and a wide bandwidth of operation (75-100 GHz). These circuits are the first demonstration of RF MEMS digital-type phase shifters at W-band frequencies and they outperform their solid-state counterparts by a large margin.     

Fabrication, assembly, and testing of RF MEMS capacitive switches using flexible printed circuit technology

A novel approach for cost effective fabrication, assembly, and packaging of radio-frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) capacitive switches using flexible circuit processing techniques is reported. The key feature of this approach is the use of most commonly used flexible circuit film, Kapton-E polyimide film, as the movable switch membrane. The physical dimensions of these switches are in the mesoscale range. For example, electrode area and gap height of a capacitive shunt switch on coplanar waveguide are 2 /spl times/ 1 mm/sup 2/ and 43 /spl mu/m, respectively. Pull-down voltage is in the range of 90-100 V. In the ON state (up-position), the insertion loss is less than 0.3-0.4 dB up to 30 GHz. In OFF state (down-position), the isolation value is about 15 dB at 12 GHz and increases to 36 dB at 30 GHz. These switches are uniquely suitable for batch integration with printed circuits and antennas on laminate substrates.     

A fully integrated SOI RF MEMS technology for system-on-a-chip applications

In this paper, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) radio-frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology compatible with CMOS and high-voltage devices for system-on-a-chip applications is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. This technology allows the integration of RF MEMS switches with driver and processing circuits for single-chip communication applications. The SOI high-voltage device (0.7-/spl mu/m channel length, 2-/spl mu/m drift length, and over 35-V breakdown voltage), CMOS devices (0.7-/spl mu/m channel length and 1.3/-1.2 V threshold voltage), and RF MEMS capacitive switch (insertion loss 0.14 dB at 5 GHz and isolation 9.5 dB at 5 GHz) are designed and fabricated to show the feasibility of building fully integrated RF systems. The performance of the fabricated RF MEMS capacitive switches on low-resistivity and high-resistivity SOI substrates will also be compared.     

Modulation instability in RF MEMS devices

Modulation instability generated by mechanical frequencies in RF MEMS switches is predicted and its potential contribution to the RF signal degradation is discussed. In particular, evaluations have been performed for double clamped configurations in shunt capacitive devices. As a conclusion, it is evidenced the possibility for the excitation of satellites affecting as noise sources higher than −40 dB the spectral purity of microwave sources.     

分布式MEMS移相器电容开关时间响应特性研究

提出一种适合于分析微波分布式MEMS移相器静电驱动电容开关的开启时间和动态特性的新方法。采用IntelliSuite~(TM)模拟工具的SYNPLE模块研究材料、驱动电压、MEMS桥高度和共面波导信号线宽度对电容开启时间的影响。通过优化参数,分析结果表明:对于金电容开关,V=40 V、g_0=2.5μm和W=100μm,开关的开启时间为～7μs。     

惯性冲击对低真空封装的RF MEMS电容开关性能的影响

分析了外界惯性冲击对低真空封装的旁路电容式RF MEMS开关性能的影响.得到了近似计算外界惯性冲击引起位移的解析式.在已知最大容许插入损耗和外部惯性冲击环境条件下,MEMS开关支撑梁的最小机械刚度常数以及外部惯性冲击引起的插入损耗可以根据该式得到.通过RF MEMS电容式开关实例,表明设计低真空封装的RF MEMS电容式开关时应考虑外部环境因素.可见,RF MEMS开关用低真空封装可以减小空气阻尼、改善开关速度和执行电压的同时,开关的性能却容易受外界环境因素的影响.该研究对低真空封装的RF MEMS电容式开关的优化设计很有意义.     

微波电路的MEMS天关进展

开关是微波信号变换的关键元件,和传统的半导体开关相比,射频微机电系统（RF MEMS）开关具有优良的高频特性和固有的重量轻、尺寸小、低功耗等优点,而且其制作工艺和传统的CMOS工艺相兼容。本文较为详细地了串联悬臂梁开关、并联悬臂梁开关和膜开关的工作原理及典型的性能参数。由于其优越的微小特性,MEMS开关已在许多电路和系统中,包括微波前端电路、数字电容器组和移相网络中得到应用。     

惯性冲击对低真空封装的RF MEMS电容开关性能的影响

分析了外界惯性冲击对低真空封装的旁路电容式RF MEMS开关性能的影响.得到了近似计算外界惯性冲击引起位移的解析式.在已知最大容许插入损耗和外部惯性冲击环境条件下,MEMS开关支撑梁的最小机械刚度常数以及外部惯性冲击引起的插入损耗可以根据该式得到.通过RF MEMS电容式开关实例,表明设计低真空封装的RF MEMS电容式开关时应考虑外部环境因素.可见,RF MEMS开关用低真空封装可以减小空气阻尼、改善开关速度和执行电压的同时,开关的性能却容易受外界环境因素的影响.该研究对低真空封装的RF MEMS电容式开关的优化设计很有意义.     

Switchable Composite Right/Left-Handed (S-CRLH) Transmission Line Using MEMS Switches

This letter presents a novel switchable composite right/left-handed (S-CRLH) metamaterial transmission line (TL) using MEMS switches. The proposed TL is based on a general CRLH TL with switchable capacitors and switchable shunt inductive stubs. The LH mode of the S-CRLH TL ranges from 7.5 GHz to 10.4 GHz. In these frequencies, the S-CRLH TL is able to switch from a negative phase response (phase lag) to a positive phase response (phase lead), or vice versa. This phase modulation can be obtained through a voltage, due to the use of MEMS switches. The size of the fabricated S-CRLH TL, including bias networks, is $4941 mu{rm m}times 2076 mu{rm m}$ and is compact thanks to the LH mode.      

A MEMS reconfigurable matching network for a class AB amplifier

This letter presents the design of a reconfigurable amplifier with an adaptive matching network implemented by shunt MEMS switches. In particular, the MEMS switches are used as capacitive stubs in double-stub matching circuit designs. The effective capacitance of the switches can be varied by switch activation which results in a change of the matching configuration. The RF response of the adaptive matching network is studied and the power performance of the amplifier is presented.     

Ka波段分布式MEMS移相器低驱动电平容性开关的机电设计

为降低Ka波段分布式MEMS移相器容性开关的驱动电压,提出不同形状新型低弹性系数铰链梁结构MEMS电容开关的机电设计概念.采用Intelli SuiteTM和ADS软件分析了三种梁结构MEMS电容开关的位移分布、驱动电压、机械振动模式和射频性能等参数,结果表明:所设计新型beam2结构MEMS电容开关具有优越的机电特性和射频特性,即开关的驱动电压为3V,机械振动模式固有频率都大于31kHz,在35GHz处插入损耗和回波损耗分别为0.082dB和18.6dB,而相移量可达到105.9o.     

Low Voltage Rf Mems Capacitive Shunt Switches

Micro-electro-mechanical-systems(MEMS) switches have low resistive loss, negligible power consumption, good isolation and high power handling capability compared with semiconductor switches. Lifetime of capacitive shunt switches strongly depends on the actuation voltage so low voltage switches is necessary to enhance its performance as well as to broaden its application area. This paper presents the design and simulation of low voltage capacitive shunt MEMS switches together with its RF performance for high frequency applications. The low voltage switches are realized by lowering the spring constant of the beam using serpentine spring designs together with large capacitive area so as to achieve the good RF performance as well. The pull-in voltage is analyzed with commercial CAD finite element analysis software CoventorWare. The electromagnetic performance in terms of scattering parameters, insertion loss, and isolation are analyzed with software Ansoft HFSS10. The switches achieved insertion loss \(<\) 0.47 dB in on state from 2 to 40 GHz; it provided better than 25 dB isolation in off state with a capacitance ratio of 94–96. The actuation voltage as low as 1.5 V with actuation area \(110\,\times \,100\,\upmu \mathrm{m^2}\) along with good RF performance is reported. The design parameter optimization including selection of appropriate number of meanders and its width found to be one of the most sensitive factors affecting the spring stiffness and actuation voltage.     

高隔离度X波段RF MEMS电容式并联开关

研究了一种新型的、应用于X波段的高隔离度RF MEMS电容式并联开关结构。相比于普通的并联结构,该开关通过共面波导(CPW)传输线与地平面之间的衬底刻槽结构将隔离度提高了7dB,关态时在13.5GHz谐振频率处的隔离度为-54.6dB,执行电压为26V。弹簧梁结构开关的执行电压下降为14V,在11GHz处其隔离度为-42.8dB。通过两个并联开关级联与开关间的高阻传输线构成的π型调谐开关电路,在11.5GHz处的隔离度为-81.6dB。     

Frequency Scalable Model for MEMS Capacitive Shunt Switches at Millimeter-Wave Frequencies

This paper presents an approach to RF microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive shunt switch design from $K$-band up to $W$-band based on the scalability of the RF MEMS switch with frequency. The parameters of the switch's equivalent-circuit model also follow scaling rules. The measurement results of the fabricated switches show an excellent agreement with simulations that allow to validate the MEMS model in the entire band from 20 up to 94 GHz. This model is going to be used in the phase shifter circuit design for antenna array applications. The first 60-GHz phase shifter results are also reported here.      

BST-MEMS移相器开关

为了提高MEMS电容开关性能,介绍了移相器的一种新型结构——分布式电容周期性加载结构。分析发现移相器的相移度和单元可变电容的变化率有关。目前MEMS可变电容单元采用的介质基本上是氮化硅。BST薄膜作为一种性质优良的介电材料,其介电常数远大于氮化硅。从MEMS移相器开关性能的几个关键指标出发,探讨在MEMS移相器开关中,用BST薄膜代替氮化硅介质的可能性。     

偏置电压对射频/微波MEMS电容开关寿命的影响

理论分析了影响射频／微波MEMS电容开关寿命的因素：介质内的电场强度和可动薄膜对介质膜的冲击速度。用三种不同的偏置电压，对介质内电场强度和可动薄膜对介质膜的冲击速度进行了数值分析和比较。提出了在脉冲电压作用下，可得到可动薄膜对介质膜最小的冲击速度和介质内的最小电场强度，从而极大地提高MEMS电容开关运行的可靠性和寿命。实验验证了上述结论。     

A 10-b 20-MHz 30-mW pipelined interpolating CMOS ADC

This paper describes a circuit design and experimental results of a video-rate 10-b analog-to-digital converter (ADC) suitable for portable audio-visual equipment. Two new circuit techniques, termed pipelined capacitive interpolation and error averaging circuits with capacitor networks, are developed. As a result, very low power dissipation of 30 mW at a low power-supply voltage of 2.5 V is attained at the conversion frequency of 20 MHz. Also, a good DNL of less than ±0.5 LSB and an acceptable signal-to-noise and distortion ratio of 55 dB are obtained for the input frequencies of 1 kHz and 1 MHz, respectively. The ADC is fabricated in 0.8-μm CMOS technology and occupies an area of 2.6×2.5 mm²     

新型磁驱动增大检测电容的高精度MEMS惯性传感器研究

增大传感器振子的质量和静态测试电容可以减小电容式MEMS惯性传感系统的噪声,而深度粒子反应刻蚀工艺由于复杂的工艺原因,当深宽比较大时,不能刻蚀出大质量和大初始电容的传感器.据此,本文研究了一种磁驱动增大检测电容的MEMS惯性传感器,通过电磁驱动器,传感器的静态测试电容可以大幅增加,在梳齿电容上刻蚀阻尼槽后,其机械噪声达到0.61μg每根号赫兹,仿真其共振频率为598Hz,静态位移灵敏度为0.7μm每重力加速度,基于硅 玻璃键合工艺,制作了栅形条电容式惯性传感器,并用电磁驱动的方式测试其品质因子达到715,从而验证了制作工艺的可行性和电磁驱动器改变传感器初始静态测试电容的可行性.