Laser machined microsystems for active frequency selective surfaces

This paper presents the large scale integration of laser machined cantilever switches onto frequency selective surfaces for pass-band switching. A sheet of aluminum is patterned through laser cutting and attached by point laser welding to a frequency selective surface. The switch cantilever positions are adjusted by local thermal laser heating. As a result the response of the FSS can be shifted by electrostatic actuation of the switches. The design is verified by measurements on a 100 element active FSS at X-Band.