RF-MEMSSwitched Varactor forHighPowerApplications

A newkindofMEMS switched varactor hasbeen developed tohandle highpowerRFsignals, (P>1W),atSand X-band.The designprinciple ispresented, as wellas measurements results featuring ananalysis ofthereliability tests. Thefabricated varactors haveshownacapacitance ratio of7-8at 5GHzandgoodperformances reproducibility while undergoing 1billion cycle tests underaninput RFpowerof1W @ 1OGHz, and250million cycle tests under5W @ 3GHz,bothinhot switching conditions, without visible degradation. IndexTerms - MEMS devices, powerhandling, reliability testing, varactors.

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