A Novel Technique to Alleviate the Stiction Phenomenon in Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Switches

Radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches subject to long term actuation suffer from narrowing of the actuation and release voltages. This can lead to the failure of the device when the device remains actuated without external biasing due to stiction effects. The stiction phenomenon is one of the most challenging problems in RF MEMS switches, especially in applications where these devices have to remain actuated for an extended period of time (months or even years). In this letter, we show a novel recovery technique to alleviate the stiction phenomenon significantly increasing the device lifetime. In particular, we show how the flowing of a small current through the suspended membrane can be used to fully restore the device properties to its fresh conditions in just a few seconds.