RF MEMS in wireless architectures

Micromechanical (or "μmechanical") communication circuits fabricated via IC-compatible MEMS technologies and capable of low-loss filtering, mixing, switching, and frequency generation, are described with the intent to miniaturize wireless transceivers. Possible MEMS-based receiver front-end architectures are then presented that use these micromechanical circuits in large quantities to enhance robustness and substantially reduce power consumption. Among the more aggressive architectures proposed are one based on a μmechanical RF channel-selector and one featuring an all-MEMS RF front-end.