IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 48, NO.

6, JUNE 2000 1053

High-Isolation CPW MEMS Shunt

Switches—Part 2: Design
Jeremy B. Muldavin, Student Member, IEEE, and Gabriel M. Rebeiz, Fellow, IEEE

Abstract—In this paper, the second of two parts, the equiva-

lent RLC model of the shunt switch is used in the design of tuned
two- and four-bridge “cross” switches from 10 to 40 GHz. The
cross switch attained an insertion loss of less than 0.3–0.6 dB, a
return loss below 20 dB from 22 to 38 GHz in the up state, and a
down-state isolation of 45–50 dB with only 1.5 pF of down-state ca-
pacitance ( ). Also, an -band microelectromechanical system
(MEMS) switch with an insertion loss of less than 0.2 dB and an iso-
lation of 35 dB is presented. This is done by inductively tuning the
(a)
LC series resonance of the shunt switch. The MEMS bridge height
is 1.5–2.5 m, resulting in a pull-down voltage of 15–25 V. Applica-
tion areas are in low-loss high-isolation communication and radar
switches.
Index Terms—Low loss, MEMS, micromachining, microwave,
millimeter wave, switches.

I. INTRODUCTION (b)
Fig. 1. (a) Physical implementation and (b) equivalent-circuit model for the

T HIS PAPER focuses on the design and implemen-

tation of coplanar-waveguide (CPW) shunt-capaci-
tive-switch-tuned configurations for high-isolation applications
two MEMS bridge switch.

two bridge switch (Fig. 1), which consists of two single MEMS
from 20 to 40 GHz. The capacitor–inductor–resistor (CLR) shunt switches separated by a short length of high-impedance
model of the shunt switch circuit is used in the design of transmission line. The length of midsection line is chosen such
tuned high-isolation switches. The advantages of a tuned that the reflection from the first membrane and the reflection
configuration are reduced reflection loss and wide-band op- from the second membrane cancel at the input port when
eration in the up state, and increased isolation in the down the switch is in the up state. This is a standard design used
state. A two-bridge-tuned switch and a four-bridge “cross” extensively in p-i-n diode switches [1]. Ignoring the inductance
implementation with high isolation are presented in this paper. and resistance of the membranes, and setting the cancellation
Also, a high-isolation switch is obtained by designing the series frequency to be , the electrical length of the midsection line
resonance frequency of the microelectromechanical systems is calculated as
(MEMS) switch to be in the -band frequency range. This
is done using a short transmission-line stub, and is labeled as (1)
“inductive tuning.”
The tuned designs allow for a compact circuit and simple fab- where is the electrical length of the midsection line of
rication, which is crucial for low-cost applications, and results impedance , is the bridge capacitance, and is the port
in a lower insertion loss than standard designs. The applications impedance of the switch. If is chosen to be higher than ,
are in high-isolation switches for -, -, and -band sys- the midsection physical line length can be reduced. Setting
tems. The techniques can easily be applied up to 100 GHz. the midsection line impedance equal to the port impedance
, the equation becomes
II. TUNED TWO-BRIDGE -BAND MEMS SWITCHES
The model for the single MEMS membrane switch can (2)
be used to design a high-isolation low-insertion-loss reflec-
tive-tuned switch. One of the simplest tuned structures is the By taking advantage of the reflection null of the tuned
MEMS switch, the up-state capacitance of the bridges in the
tuned switch can be increased as compared to a typical single
Manuscript received March 17, 2000. This work was supported by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory under the System on a Chip Program. MEMS switch. This can be done by increasing the area of the
The authors are with the Radiation Laboratory, Department of Electrical bridge, or lowering the nominal gap height, or a combination of
Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Michigan at Ann both. Increasing the area will increase the down-state isolation
Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2122 USA (e-mail: [email protected];
[email protected]). and lowering the nominal gap height will lower the pull-down
Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-9480(00)04671-8. voltage at the expense of a smaller capacitance ratio .
0018–9480/00$10.00 © 2000 IEEE
1054 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 48, NO. 6, JUNE 2000

(a)

(a)

(b)
Fig. 3. (a) Physical implementation and (b) equivalent-circuit model for the
cross switch.

(b) state capacitance of 2.2 pF results in a very high isolation at

Fig. 2. Measured and fitted two bridge S -parameters in the: (a) up state and 20–40 GHz while still maintaining a pull-down voltage of 15 V.
(b) the down state for two different values of C . The return loss of a single
up-state bridge is shown in (a) for comparison.

III. -BAND CROSS SWITCH

We have chosen to lower the nominal gap height from 3.5
In an effort to further increase the bandwidth and down-state
to 1.5 m, thereby decreasing the pull-down voltage from
isolation of the tuned switch, a novel “cross” switch was
50 to 15 V for a typical 300- m-long Au bridge, having the
developed. The physical implementation and equivalent–circuit
same mechanical spring constant. This results in a theoretical
model of the switch are shown in Fig. 3. The in-line section
ratio of 40–45 (2000-Å Si N ), depending
consists of two bridges separated by lengths of high impedance
on the fringing capacitance, instead of to for a
transmission line. The shunt sections are open-ended stubs
3–4- m gap.
loaded at the ends with a smaller MEMS switch. These in-line
The measured and simulated up- and down-state -parame-
and shunt sections produce two independent reflection nulls
ters for a typical tuned switch are shown in Fig. 2. The measure-
[see Fig. 4(a)]. In the up state, the CPW line impedances and
ments were performed using the National Institute of Standard’s
electrical lengths can be optimized to give an excellent return
(NIST’s) Multical1 thru-reflection-line (TRL) calibration with
loss over a wide bandwidth. In the down state, the reflection
on-wafer standards and reference planes, as shown in Fig. 1.
nulls are lowered in frequency and the two shunt capacitively
The up-state capacitance of the individual bridges is 55–60 fF,
loaded stubs present a good RF short circuit at the cross
and the midsection line impedance is 66 with a length of
node, resulting in very high isolation. The switch requires
400 m. The capacitance ratio is 15–19, due again to
a single-bias voltage to pull all four MEMS switches to the
the surface roughness, and the fitted bridge inductance is only
down state. The only complication of this implementation is
4.8 pH, due to a bridge thickness of 3 m. The insertion loss
the associated parasitics of the cross junction, which can be
of the switch in the up state is 0.2–0.4 dB from 20 to 40 GHz.
modeled using modern electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools.
The up-state -parameters for a single membrane switch with a
The measured and simulated -parameters of a typical
nominal gap height of 1.5 m are also provided for comparison,
cross switch design are shown in Fig. 4. The midsection line
showing that the up-state return loss can be lowered over a 50%
impedance is 66 with a length of 350 m and the shunt
bandwidth. The isolation after 30 GHz in Fig. 2 was limited by
section line impedance is 50 with a length of 170 m.
substrate isolation and probe-to-probe coupling (see Fig. 4 for
The MEMS bridge height is again 1.5 m, resulting in a
typical isolation measurements). Fig. 2(b) shows the isolation if
pull-down voltage of about 15 V. The up-state capacitance of
a capacitance ratio of 40 is achieved. It is evident that a down-
the in-line membranes ( m) is pF and is
1Multical v1.00, NIST, Boulder, CO, 1995. fF for the MEM’s bridges in the shunt sections. The
MULDAVIN AND REBEIZ: HIGH-ISOLATION CPW MEMS SHUNT SWITCHES—PART 2: DESIGN 1055

(a)

Fig. 5. Simulated S -parameters of a MEMS shunt switch with a down-state

capacitance of 2.7 pF and various values of inductance.

(b)
Fig. 4. Measured and simulated: (a) up- and (b) down-state S -parameters of a
MEMS cross switch. The location of the nulls in the return loss [labeled (1) and
(2)] are controlled by the in-line and parallel resonant structures, respectively.

equivalent circuit model, shown in Fig. 3(b), does not account

for the cross-junction parasitics.
The tuned cross switch results in an up-state reflection co-
Fig. 6. MEMS shunt switch implementation with inductive tuning and its
efficient of less than 20 dB from 22 to 38 GHz, with a mea- equivalent-circuit model.
sured insertion loss of 0.3–0.6 dB, respectively. The up-state re-
flection loss of the cross switch is below 16 dB from dc to
the resonant frequency. Fig. 5 shows the isolation of a MEMS
40 GHz. The down-state capacitance of the in-line mem-
switch with pF and for varying in-
branes is a function of surface roughness, and is about 0.5 of
ductance values ( – pH). It is seen that the LC reso-
the parallel-plate estimate ( instead of ). Even
nance frequency can be lowered to -band frequencies with the
with the nonoptimal down-state capacitance, the cross switch
use of a 40–60-pH inductance. Inductively tuned MEMS shunt
attained greater than 40-dB isolation from 17 to 40 GHz, for a
switches result in less bandwidth than standard shunt switches,
pF, pF, with inductances of
but with higher isolation around the resonant frequency. This is
pH and pH. We believe that the measurements above
especially true at -band frequencies since the of the LC res-
32 GHz are limited by substrate and coupling effects. The isola-
onance is and is 40–60 pH.
tion was determined by connecting the probes to CPW short or
The MEMS bridge inductance is limited to 15–20 pH even
open circuits on the wafer after calibration and measuring .
with the use of a very small bridge width over the CPW gaps
Another advantage of the cross switch is the relatively high
[2, Table II]. However, a large series inductance can be easily
isolation at low (16–20 GHz) frequencies with a small down-
synthesized by adding a short high-impedance section of trans-
state capacitance as compared to a typical single MEMS switch.
mission line between the MEMS bridge and the ground plane
If a higher down-state capacitance ratio was
(Fig. 6). By properly choosing the length of this line, the se-
achieved, the cross design would produce an isolation greater
ries resonant frequency can be pushed down to the -band
than 50 dB from 12 to 40 GHz.
frequency range. This results in high-isolation shunt -band
MEMS switches without the use of an additional MEMS switch
IV. INDUCTIVELY TUNED HIGH-ISOLATION -BAND SWITCHES or the tuned designs shown above.
One way to obtain a higher isolation at -band frequencies An inductively tuned MEMS shunt switch has been fabricated
is to increase the series inductance of the switch so as to lower for -band operation using a 50- CPW line implementation
1056 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 48, NO. 6, JUNE 2000

isolation switches in the down state and excellent return loss in

the up state. Also, inductively-tuned bridges have been shown to
result in much higher isolation at -band frequencies than stan-
dard MEMS shunt switches. The techniques presented in this
paper can be directly applied to millimeter-wave (40–100 GHz)
switches, with a good knowledge of the switch CLR model.

REFERENCES
[1] H. A. Atwater, “Circuit design of the loaded-line phase shifter,” IEEE
Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. MTT-33, pp. 626–634, July 1985.
[2] J. B. Muldavin and G. M. Rebeiz, “High isolation MEMS shunt
switches—Part 1: Modeling,” IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech.,
vol. 48, pp. 1045–1052, June 1999.
[3] R. B. Marks, “A multiline method of network analyzer calibration,”
Fig. 7. Simulated and measured S -parameters for MEMS shunt switches with IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 39, pp. 1205–1215, July
w = 100 m and L = 0 and 150 m. 1991.

(96, 160, 96 m) on a high-resistivity silicon substrate. The

fabrication procedure is based on a 300- m-long 6000-Å thick Jeremy B. Muldavin (S’86) received the B.S.E. degree in engineering physics
from The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, in 1996, and is currently
sputtered gold bridge, suspended 2.5 m above the center con- working toward the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering at The University of
ductor. In this case, the metallization underneath the bridge is Michigan at Ann Arbor.
a smooth layer of 2000-Å-thick refractory metal covered by a He spent four years as a Student Researcher in the High Energy Spin Physics
Group, The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His research interests are
dielectric of 2100 Å of silicon nitride. The width of the capac- development and characterization of novel MEMS structures and interconnects
itive section (portion over center conductor of the CPW) of the for components and subsystems in wireless communication systems.
MEMS bridge is 100 m. The length of the inductive section of
transmission line is either 0 (no ground indentation) or 150 m.
The CPW line and inductive section are composed of sputtered Gabriel M. Rebeiz (S’86–M’88–SM’93–F’97)
Au that is 1.3- m thick. received the Ph.D. in electrical engineering from
The measurements are based on an on-wafer TRL calibration the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in
1988.
[3] and are referenced to 40 m from either side of the MEMS In September 1998, he joined the faculty of
bridge, as shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 7 shows the measured and fitted The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and
performance of a 100- m-wide bridge in the down state. The became a Full Professor in May 1998. He has
held short Visiting Professorships at Chalmers
fitted parameters for no inductive tuning are pF, University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden, Ecole
pH, and . This results in a resonant frequency of Normale Superieur, Paris, France, and Tohoku
21 GHz. The resonance with a 150- m-long inductive transmis- University, Sendai, Japan. His research interests
are in applying micromachining techniques and MEMS for the development
sion-line section is shifted to 12 GHz, and the isolation is better of novel components and subsystems for wireless communication systems.
than 30 dB from 11 to 13 GHz. The 150- m-long inductive He is also interested in Si/GaAs radio-frequency integrated-circuit (RFIC)
transmission-line section is, therefore, equivalent to a series in- design for receiver applications, and in the development of planar antennas
and microwave/millimeter-wave front-end electronics for applications in
ductance of 37 pH around 12 GHz. At 10–12 GHz, there is an millimeter-wave communication systems, automotive collision-avoidance
8-dB improvement in the isolation over the standard design. The sensors, monopulse tracking systems, and phased arrays.
fitting of the inductively tuned bridge is done by taking the , Prof. Rebeiz received the 1991 National Science Foundation Presidential
Young Investigator Award and the 1993 URSI International Isaac Koga Gold
values of the MEMS bridge and adding two short sections of Medal Award for Outstanding International Research. He received the 1995
56- CPW transmission line using Libra.2 For both switches, Research Excellence Award presented by The University of Michigan at
the up-state insertion and return losses up to 13 GHz were less Ann Arbor. Together with his students, he has received Best Student Paper
Awards presented by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society
then 0.2 dB and 15 dB, respectively. (IEEE MTT-S) (1992, 1994–1999), and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation
Society (IEEE AP-S) (1992, 1995) and the 1990 Journees Int. Nice Antennes
(JINA) Best Paper Award. He received the 1997 Electrical Engineering and
V. CONCLUSION Computer Science Department Teaching Award, the 1998 College of Engi-
This paper has presented tuned switch designs incorporating neering Teaching Award, and was selected by the students as the 1997–1998
Eta–Kappa–Nu Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor of
two or more membrane switches from 10 to 40 GHz. The mea- the Year. In 1998, he received the Amoco Foundation Teaching Award, given
surements show the advantages of the tuned approach for high- yearly to one (or two) faculty at The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, for
excellence in undergraduate teaching. He is also the corecipient of the IEEE
2Libra, Series IV 6.6, Hewlett-Packard Company, Santa Rosa, CA, 1997. 2000 Microwave Prize for his work on MEMS switches and phase shifters.