Dielectric charging in capacitive RF MEMS switches: The effect of electric stress

This paper investigates the dependence of dielectric charging on the pull-in state electric field and temperature in capacitive RF MEMS switches with silicon dioxide as the dielectric material. Electric field intensities determined by bias levels extending from 0% to 50% above pull-in voltage are employed. Experimental results indicate that charging is thermally activated and the activation energy increases with increasing the intensity of the pull-in state electric field. These results provide a deeper insight to the trapping processes in dielectric materials under different levels of electric stress and aid in better modeling of charging processes in capacitive RF MEMS switches.