Low cost fabrication and testing of high isolation radio frequency MEMS switches.

Radio frequency MEMS switches are key components in low power communication systems. The present paper reports fabrication of MEMS based series and shunt switches for actuation voltage in the range of 30 to 50 V. Focusing on a low cost fabrication approach, the switches were designed for higher isolation of >25 dB and low insertion loss of <0.5 dB. Aluminum was chosen as a cost effective alternative for the fabrication of the transmission line and structural beam. The shunt and series switches were investigated for a frequency range of 1 to 20 GHz. The shunt switch shows the insertion loss of 0.5 dB and isolation of -28 dB and the series switch shows the insertion loss of 0.7 dB and isolation of -27 dB at 20 GHz. The measured actuation voltage was 30 V for the shunt switch and 42 V for the series switch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]