A Tunable RF MEMS Inductor on Silicon Incorporating an Amorphous Silicon Bimorph in a Low-Temperature Process

Author

Chang, Stella ; Sivoththaman, Siva

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Waterloo Univ., Ont.

Volume

27

Issue

11

fYear

2006

Firstpage

905

Lastpage

907

Abstract

A novel tunable radio frequency microelectromechanical system inductor based on the bimorph effect of an amorphous silicon (a-Si) and aluminum structural layer is presented. The outer turns of the inductor have a vertical height of 450 mum when no voltage is applied. A 32% tuning range with high inductance (5.6-8.2 nH) is achieved by the application of a voltage, with the structure completely flattening at 2 V. With no actuation, the peak quality factor is 15, and the self-resonance frequency is 7 GHz. The fact that the device is fabricated on Si in a low-temperature (150 degC) process enhances the potential for system integration

Keywords

Q-factor; amorphous semiconductors; inductors; low-temperature techniques; micromechanical devices; silicon; 150 C; 2 V; 7 GHz; Q factor; RF MEMS inductor; Si; aluminum structural layer; amorphous silicon; bimorph effect; low-temperature process; tunable devices; Amorphous silicon; Compressive stress; Frequency; Inductance; Inductors; Q factor; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Tensile stress; Tunable circuits and devices; Tuning; Inductors; microelectromechanical devices; microwave devices; silicon (Si); tunable circuits and devices;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Device Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0741-3106

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LED.2006.884712

Filename

1715462