Reliability design of thermally actuated MEMS switches supported by V -Beams

This paper presents the design and fabrication of the thermally actuated MEMS switches based on out-of-plane Vbeams. The scope of research work is to analyze the mechanical response of a V-thermal actuator fabricated from aluminum in order to improve the accuracy in response and to increase the switches lifetime. The actuation of these switches is based on the static displacement of the mobile electrode under a temperature gradient applied on anchors. It can be used either as a capacitive switch or as a metal-to-metal one. The mobile electrode is moved based on the thermal expansion of the V-beams. The displacement of the mobile electrode under a temperature gradient is analytically and numerically determined. Experimental investigations are performed at macro-scale using a 3D digital image correlation measuring system, a heating source and a thermal camera for accurate temperature monitoring. The manufacturing process of a MEMS device with V-shape beams is also presented in this paper. The out-of-plane V-beams thermal MEMS switches can be monolithically integrated in RF applications.