Non-linear effects in MEMS tunable bandstop filters

This paper provides the first study of electromechanical non-linearities of MEMS tunable bandstop filters. The studied non-linearity sets a limit on the power handling capability of such filters. A two-pole MEMS tunable evanescent-mode (EVA) bandstop filter is fabricated and measured to validate the non-linear circuit modeling. Good agreement is observed between measurement and modeling. The fabricated tunable bandstop filter exhibits more than 2 W power handling capability around 2 GHz. To the authors´ best knowledge this is the highest power handling reported for an L-band bandstop filter based on evanescent-mode cavity resonators.