3-state, high contact and release force RF MEMS switch designed based on MetalMUMPs process

This paper demonstrates a novel three-state high contact and release force RF MEMS switch dedicated for ultra-low loss and high isolation applications. The configuration of the switch is DC-contact series switch integrated into a microstrip transmission line. The switch is composed of three actuators at which two of them are electrostatic actuators and one of them is a μelectro-thermal actuator. The 1st and 2nd electrostatic actuators are to drive the switch to ON and Deep-OFF states and the μelectro-thermal actuator is used to strongly break micro-welding in switch tip and drive the switch to OFF state. The device is designed based on the MetalMUMPs fabrication process rules. The required voltage for 1st and 2nd actuators is 30 V and μelectro-thermal actuator require an actuation voltage of 0.3 V. Thanks to using electro-static actuators for ON and Deep-OFF states of the switch, the DC power consumption of the device in near zero. When the switch is OFF, the isolation is better than −20 dB for frequencies lower than 20 GHz. At the ON state, the insertion loss and return loss of the switch are −0.7 and −18 dB, respectively up to 20 GHz. The isolation of the switch reach −48 dB up to 20 GHz when the switch goes to Deep-OFF state. The presented switch in this paper can be a promising choice for the applications where low loss, high isolation and low power consumption is sought after.