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Microwave Components with MEMS Switches

Conference Paper · November 2000

DOI: 10.1109/EUMA.2000.338638 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 Microwave Components with MEMS Switches

James H. Schaffner†, Robert Y. Loo†, Clifton Quan‡, Robert C. Allison‡, Brian M. Pierce‡,
Stanley W. Livingston‡, Adele E. Schmitz†, Tsung-Yuan Hsu†, Daniel F. Sievenpiper†, Frank
A. Dolezal†, Gregory, L. Tangonan†
†HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California, USA,
‡ Raytheon Systems Company, El Segundo, California, USA
[email protected]

Abstract – RF MEMS switches with metal-metal mechanical stress so that the beam remains flat without
contacts are being developed for microwave bending when the switch is not actuated. A pure silicon
applications where broadband, high linearity nitride section in the cantilever arm between the top
performance is required. These switches provide less actuation electrode and the metal shorting bar forms a
than 0.2 dB insertion loss through 40 GHz. This DC block and also reduces coupling from the RF line
paper describes the integration of these switches into into the DC bias circuitry. As can be seen in figure 1, the
selected microwave components such as switch is comprised of two springs, one that presses the
reconfigurable antenna elements, tunable filters, shorting bar down across the gap under actuation, and the
switched delay lines, and SPDT switches. Microwave other near the cantilever anchor point that provides
and millimeter wave measured results from these restoring force to lift the cantilever up after the actuation
circuits are presented. voltage is removed.
Low RF contact resistance (< 1 Ω) is achieved
I. INTRODUCTION by two metal dimples located at the edges of the shorting
bar which increase the contact force when the beam is in
When low insertion loss and high linearity are the closed position. The microwave performance of the
required over a broad frequency band, mechanical series switch is shown in figure 2. Typical measured
switches are better than solid-state switches. Attention is parameters of these switches is very low insertion loss,
currently focused on the development of RF micro- less than 0.2 dB up to 40 GHz; and high isolation, greater
electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switches. While than 40 dB at frequencies less than 5 GHz which slowly
issues of reliability, robustness, and performance of these decreases to about 25 dB at 40 GHz. These switches
switches are of paramount importance, it is also essential have also been tested with up to one watt of RF power
that these switches be demonstrated in prototype when hot switched and up to two watts of RF power
components to fuel interest for system designers. Some when cold switched, without any resulting degradation in
components with RF MEMS switches have already been performance.
reported, for example, microwave and millimeter wave
phase-shifters [1]. In this paper, the performance of a III. MEMS SWITCHES IN MICROWAVE
few microwave components that have been integrated COMPONENTS.
with the RF MEMS switches that are being developed at
HRL Laboratories will be described. These MEMS Some microwave circuit components have been
switches have been inserted and demonstrated in built which integrate the RF MEMS switches described
reconfigurable antenna elements, tunable filters, in the previous section. In this section, RF MEMS based
switched delay lines, and single-pole double-throw reconfigurable antenna elements, tunable filters, true-
(SPDT) switches. time delay phase shifters, and hybrid SPDT switches will
be described.
II. METAL CONTACT RF MEMS SWITCHES First, an essential element of any microwave
wireless system is the antenna. RF MEMS switches
The switch, shown in figure 1, is a microscopic enable antennas to be reconfigured for both frequency
version of a conventional relay cantilever switch [2] that agility and for beam steering. As an example, MEMS
is fabricated on top of a GaAs substrate. The RF portion switches were used in a microwave dipole to tune the
of the switch has a series gap in microstrip transmission resonant length of the dipole for operation at X-band and
line that can be short circuited by a bar of gold deposited Ku-band. The printed circuit dipole, shown in figure 3,
at the end of a cantilever beam. Electrostatic actuation is was fed by a slot coupled microstrip line in a multi-layer
used to pull a cantilever beam down to close the switch. alumina substrate. The measured patterns are also
The cantilever beam is made of three layers (silicon presented in figure 3. When the switches were closed,
nitride/gold/silicon nitride) in order to compensate for the dipole was resonant at 11 GHz. When the switches

© 2000 HRL Laboratories, LLC. All Rights Reserved

were opened, effectively shortening the dipole length, the V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
resonant frequency increased to 18 GHz. No backside
groundplane was present during these measurements; This work was supported in part by the DARPA
hence, the back-scattered radiation is apparent in these MAFET-III program, contract #N66001-96-C-8636.
figures. In addition to the dipole, RF MEMS switched
slot and notch reconfigurable antenna elements are being VI. REFERENCES
investigated.
Another microwave circuit that was fabricated [1]. B. Pillans, S. Eshelman, A. Malczewski, J. Ehmke, and C.
Goldsmith, "Ka-band RF MEMS phase shifters," IEEE Microwave and
and tested was a MEMS tunable notch filter. This filter Guided Wave Letters , vol. 9, no. 12, December 1999, pp. 520-522.
was created by placing three equally spaced open
circuited microstrip stubs along a microstrip transmission [2]. D. Hyman, A. Schmitz, B. Warneke, T. Y. Hsu, J. Lam, J. Brown,
line. MEMS switches were inserted into gaps in the J. Schaffner, A. Walston, R.Y. Loo, G. L. Tangonan, M. Mehregany,
and J. Lee, “GaAs-Compatible Surface-Micromachined RF MEMS
stubs and then used to change the effective length of the Switches,” Electronn Lett., Vol. 35, No. 3, February 4, 1999, pp. 224-
stubs. In one design, the notch frequency changed from 226.
18 to 32 GHz, when the switches went from closed to
open. The application of these switches for tunable
bandpass filters requires careful consideration, since even
a loss per switch of 0.1-0.2 dB can have deleterious
consequences to the Q of the filter elements. However,
the use of RF MEMS switches for switched filter banks DC RF Signal Line
is very promising for low-loss microwave receivers. Actuation
The low loss and high isolation of metal contact
RF MEMS switches is ideal for microwave switched
delay lines for phase shifters. Figure 4 shows the result
from an RF MEMS switched delay line one-bit phase
shifter where the difference between the delay arm and
the reference arm was designed to be 180o at 10 GHz.
This phase shifter was fabricated as a hybrid structure
with a ceramic microstrip delay line and discrete RF
MEMS phase shifters. The difference in the insertion loss Dimple
between the two arms was due to transmission line losses
and not the switches. The shift in the expected frequency
response was caused by parasitic circuit elements such as
bond wires and discrete chip effects.
Finally, a hybrid SPDT is shown in figure 5.
Here, two microstrip metal-metal contacts are Fig. 1. A photograph of an RF MEMS switch (top view)
wirebonded together along with J-micro® coplanar-to- and the cantilever beam action (side view) for both the
microstrip adapters. The results from this measurement open and closed positions.
are shown in figure 6.
INSERTION LOSS ISOLATION
Switch Closed Switch Open
0 0
0 0

IV. CONCLUSION
TRANSMISSION (dB)

TRANSMISSION (dB)

-10
1 -1 -10
Transmission Loss, dB

-20

In conclusion, RF MEMS switches have been 2 -2 -20

Isolation, dB

-30

demonstrated in a number of basic microwave 3 -3 -30

components. While much work is still needed to insure -40

the reliability of these switches, the circuits and 4 -4

-40-50

measurements presented here should help to instill 5 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

-50-60 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
00 20 40 0 20 40
confidence in the future of the MEMS switch as a Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz
FREQUENCY (GHz) FREQUENCY (GHz)
standard microwave device.

Fig. 2. Measured insertion loss of a closed switch and

isolation of an open switch.

© 2000 HRL Laboratories, LLC. All Rights Reserved

 1
2 λ1
Dipole Element
1
2 λ2
11 GHz 18 GHz
Switches open Switches closed Switches open Switches closed

Fig. 3. Antenna patterns of the MEMS switch tunable printed circuit dipole with resonance frequencies of 11 and 18 GHz.
No ground plane was used in this measurement, thus resulting in a back radiation.

HYBRID 180 DEGREE MEASURED LOSS AND PHASE

200 0
TRANSMISSION (dB)

REF PATH
100 -1
DEGREES

0 -2
180o PATH

-100 -3
PHASE CHANGE

-200 -4
9 10 11 12 13

FREQUENCY (GHz)
O
Fig. 4. Measured results from a 180 delay-line phase shifter. The phase change is the difference in degrees between the
reference path and the 180o path.

© 2000 HRL Laboratories, LLC. All Rights Reserved

 Fig. 5. A hybrid single-pole double-throw switch.

ISOLATION INSERTION LOSS

0 0

-0.1
-10
-0.2

-20 -0.3

-0.4

-30 -0.5

-0.6
-40
-0.7

-50 -0.8

-0.9

-60 -1
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz

Fig. 6 Performance of the hybrid single-pole double-throw switch up to 15 GHz.

© 2000 HRL Laboratories, LLC. All Rights Reserved

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