Title :
Pulse RF operation of MEMS capacitive switches
Author :
Palego, Cristiano ; Deng, Jie ; Halder, Subrata ; Peng, Zhen ; Hwang, James C M ; Forehand, David I. ; Goldsmith, Charles L.
Author_Institution :
ECE, Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA, USA
fDate :
Sept. 29 2009-Oct. 1 2009
Abstract :
Shifts in the pull-in voltage of electrostatically actuated MEMS capacitive switches were characterized under pulse RF excitation, which allowed the electrical and thermal effects of the RF excitation to be separated. The resulted multi-physics model accurately predicted the pull-in voltage shift under different pulse powers and duty cycles. By comparing the power capacity of switches made of aluminum or molybdenum, a new figure of merit is proposed for selecting the optimum material for the fabrication of high-power MEMS capacitive switches.
Keywords :
microswitches; MEMS capacitive switches; RF excitation; electrical effects; power capacity; pull-in voltage shift; thermal effects; Communication switching; Electromagnetic heating; Micromechanical devices; Radio frequency; Switches; Thermal conductivity; Thermal expansion; Thermal factors; Thermal resistance; Voltage; microelectromechanical devices; microwave devices; microwave switches; pulse measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Conference, 2009. EuMC 2009. European
Conference_Location :
Rome
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4748-0
