Packaging Challenges of Radio Frequency Microelectro-Mechanical Systems (RF-MEMS)

RF-MEMS (Radio Frequency-Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) are made up of moveable and fragile components (membranes, beams, cantilevers) that must be enclosed in for protection and for stable performance characteristics. Packaging is an important technology and critical aspect for the advancement of RF-MEMS. This paper elaborates the various RF-MEMS packaging challenges in the context of environment, modeling reliability, integration, stiction etc. All these challenges are application dependent; therefore case study on RF-MEMS switches with liquid crystal polymer (LCP) enclosure is presented for an in-depth illustration. RF-MEMS have the potential to have a tremendous impact on various fields such as wireless communication, defense, aerospace, radars, satellite etc. Packaging engineers are trying to overcome the packaging issues. They are trying to develop economical high- performance and highly reliable packaging solutions. The package plays a key role in ensuring the long term reliability and performance of a MEMS device.

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