Dielectric less capacitive mems switches

Blondy, Pierre; Crunteanu, Aurelian; Champeaux, Corinne; Catherinot, A.; Tristant, Pascal; Vendier, O.; Cazaux, Jean-Louis; Marchand, L.

doi:10.1109/mwsym.2004.1336046

Cited by 56 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Reduced Dielectric Area -Minimizing the dielectric contact area of MEMS switches is becoming more common as the difficulties of overcoming dielectric charging become evident. [4,5]. By changing from a continuous sheet of dielectric beneath the switch to an array of posts, the active area for charging can be reduced.…”

Section: Dielectric Charging Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Cycle Life Testing of RF MEMS Switches

Goldsmith

Forehand

Zheng

et al. 2007

2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium

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The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information AFRL-SN-WP-TP-2007-102 DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENTApproved for public release; distribution unlimited. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Conference paper submitted to the Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE MTTS IMS, published by IEEE.This work was funded in whole or in part by Department of the Air Force contract F33615-03-C-7003. The U.S. Government has for itself and others acting on its behalf an unlimited, paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose the work by or on behalf of the U.S. Government. PAO Case Number: AFRL/WS 06-2917, 28 Dec 2006. Paper contains color. ABSTRACTRF MEMS capacitive switches capable of order of-magnitude impedance changes have demonstrated operating lifetimes exceeding 100 billion switching cycles without failure. In situ monitoring of switch characteristics demonstrates no significant degradation in performance and quantifies the charging properties of the switch silicon dioxide film. This demonstration lends credence to the mechanical robustness of RF MEMS switches. SUBJECT TERMS

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Section: Dielectric Charging Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Cycle Life Testing of RF MEMS Switches

Goldsmith

Forehand

Zheng

et al. 2007

2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium

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“…At the same time, removing the typically thin high-k dielectric from the capacitive device reduces the capacitance ratio, which is an important figure of merit of an RF-MEMS capacitive switch. Nevertheless, several groups have demonstrated capacitive switching devices without dielectric that show a good performance [4] [5]. But, even though capacitance ratios in the order of 5 to 10 are achieved, the used processes are relatively complex, using multiple sacrificial layers or dimples that result from sacrificial layer planarization effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple and Robust Air Gap-Based MEMS Switch Technology for RF-Applications

Ekkels

Rottenberg

Czarnecki

et al. 2009

2009 IEEE 22nd International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

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This paper presents a simple and robust process for fabrication of functional electrostatic RF-MEMS switching devices with lifetimes easily exceeding 10 8 cycles with unipolar actuation at 100Hz. The device implements a switchable air gap capacitor and is therefore not limited in lifetime by dielectric charging as opposed to contact-type capacitive switches implementing high-k dielectrics. It is shown how these switched capacitors, even though having a capacitance ratio of only 2.8, can still form adequate switching devices and RF-circuits by proper design and combining of these devices with high-Q inductors and transmission lines. The novelty of the proposed process is that it combines a sacrificial layer consisting of a single layer with a single dry etching step for the dimples which define the air gap in the down-state. This airgap is switched by electrostatic actuation of a thick electroplated Nickel bridge-structure. The device is realized in a 4-lithographic steps process with low complexity and high robustness.

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“…Apart from the obvious difficulties in terms of IC integration, high actuation voltages decrease the lifetime of the devices by increasing charge trapping in the dielectric layers [40][41][42][43] Reliability is a crucial requirement to enable the successful application of novel MEMS devices [12,23,40,48,49], and studies have been conducted to investigate the lifetime of MEMS switches in a variety of conditions, such as in hot switching operation [50] or under different temperature regimes [51], among others. As reported by Rebeiz, the failure mechanisms generally observed in MEMS switches are not related to mechanical damage in the anchor region of the movable components [12], as the displacement gaps (in the range of few µm, as seen in all the reviewed devices) are considerably smaller than the typical overall dimensions of the moveable structures (in the range of 50-500 µm).…”

Section: High Voltages or Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Magnetic MEMS Relays: Status of the Technology

2014

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Abstract:The development and application of magnetic technologies employing microfabricated magnetic structures for the production of switching components has generated enormous interest in the scientific and industrial communities over the last decade. Magnetic actuation offers many benefits when compared to other schemes for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), including the generation of forces that have higher magnitude and longer range. Magnetic actuation can be achieved using different excitation sources, which create challenges related to the integration with other technologies, such as CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and the requirement to reduce power consumption. Novel designs and technologies are therefore sought to enable the use of magnetic switching architectures in integrated MEMS devices, without incurring excessive energy consumption. This article reviews the status of magnetic MEMS technology and presents devices recently developed by various research groups, with key focuses on integrability and effective power management, in addition to the ability to integrate the technology with other microelectronic fabrication processes.

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Dielectric less capacitive mems switches

Cited by 56 publications

References 6 publications

High-Cycle Life Testing of RF MEMS Switches

High-Cycle Life Testing of RF MEMS Switches

Simple and Robust Air Gap-Based MEMS Switch Technology for RF-Applications

Integrated Magnetic MEMS Relays: Status of the Technology

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