An RF-MEMS switch for high-power applications

This paper presents a stress- and temperature-stable RF-MEMS metal-contact switch exhibiting high power handling (>10 W) and high reliability (>100 million cycles at 2 W of RF power) for DC- to 40-GHz applications. The device, which employs a hybrid Au/Ru contact, is fabricated with an all-metal surface micro-machining process and achieves a contact force of 1.5 mN per contact pair at 90 V actuation, as well as a restoring force of 1.0 mN. Measured results based on unpackaged devices in open-air conditions show that the on-resistance is 1–2 Ω (<1 Ω with cleaning), the off-capacitance is 8 fF, the pull-in voltage is 68 V, and the switching and release time is <10 µs.