MEMS-4-MMIC The next step in combined GaAs MEMS-MMIC technology

this article summarizes the overall progress made during the last 4 project years of the FP7 EU-project MEMS-4-MMIC that focuses on the merging of innovative RF-MEMS (Micro-Electrical-Mechanical-Systems) switch designs with established MMIC-technology. The final goal is to include RF-MEMS switches into a standard commercial foundry process. Such switches can become standard building blocks for MMIC circuits such as transistors, resistors and capacitors and can be used for specific RF-applications such as phased arrays, reconfigurable arrays with switch beam networks, or cognitive systems, for example. The complete value chain for manufacturing is addressed within the project with reliability and 0-level packaging as key issues for manufacturing.