Significance of Adhesion-Reduced Bouncing in Dynamic Contacts of Ohmic RF MEMS Switches

This paper presents a mathematical Euler-Bernoulli beam-based model that simulates the dynamic behavior of typical cantilever-type radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) switches, including nonlinearly adhesive contact theory and cycle-dependent bouncing patterns. In particular, the adhesion-induced energy dissipation per cycle is modeled as an effective damping parameter and included in the dynamic model of the device. This new modeling approach eliminates the time-consuming calculation related to the complexity of the tip-drain switch contact. This model also accurately captures previously reported switch bouncing patterns and their time evolution. Comparing the modeling and experimental data enables us to estimate the time-dependent adhesion force throughout the switch lifetime. Furthermore, a nondimensionalized model is presented to analyze the characteristics of a general RF MEMS switch without a priori knowledge of its dimensions.