Performance Enhancement by Substrate Perforation for a Wafer-Level Encapsulated RF MEMS DC Shunt Switch

A wafer-level encapsulated RF MEMS shunt switch with perforated base substrate and corrugated diaphragm was developed. For the first time, the perforated base substrate by meticulous design is introduced to tremendously reduce squeeze-film damping and thus significantly increase the switching speed. The characterization of the fabricated and wafer-level encapsulated switch in terms of the switching time and RF performance is presented in this paper as well.