Wafer-Scale Packaged RF Microelectromechanical Switches

This paper presents results of fully packaged RF microelectromechanical (RF-MEM) switches including capacitive series, series-shunt, and single-pole-four-throw (SP4T) switch nodes. The RF-MEM capacitive switches are packaged using recently developed wafer scale low-loss and broadband packaging technology developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA. A packaged series capacitive switch with 0.11-dB insertion loss and better than 19-dB isolation, a series-shunt packaged capacitive switch with 0.3-dB insertion loss and better than 54 dB isolation, and an SP4T switch with less than 0.26-dB insertion loss and better than 25-dB isolation at 20 GHz are reported. Detailed reliability, radiation, cryogenic, and power-handling data are also presented.