A micro level electrostatically actuated cantilever and metal contact based series RF MEMS switch for multi-band applications

Abstract

In this paper, a micro level electrostatically actuated cantilever and metal contact based series RF MEMS Switch is designed and analyzed using Finite Element Method Tool. The designed switch is simulated and the performance is verified over the frequency range 0.8–20 GHz. In investigation, it is noticed that the performance of the RF MEMS Switch is decided by the actuation voltage, insertion losses, isolation losses and reliability. The switch designed in this paper achieved a constant insertion losses of −0.08 to −0.14 dB, isolation losses of −58 to −20 dB. This work also concentrated on the cantilever actuation voltage, and it is reduced to 3.55 V by using less weight polymer material like Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFE). The series metal contact based electrostatically driven switching is created in Microstrip Transmission line using cantilever structure associated with gold contact material. The designed RF MEMS switch is preferable in the design and implementation of reconfigurable communication devices like microstrip based antennas and RF filters.

Keywords

• transmission lines
• mems technology
• rf switches
• fem tools