Modeling and Manufacturing of Micromechanical RF Switch with Inductors

This study presents the simulation, fabrication and characterization of micromechanical radio frequency (RF) switch with micro inductors. The inductors are employed to enhance the characteristic of the RF switch. An equivalent circuit model is developed to simulate the performance of the RF switch. The behaviors of the micromechanical RF switch are simulated by the finite element method software, CoventorWare. The micromechanical RF switch is fabricated using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and a post-process. The post-process employs a wet etching to etch the sacrificial layer, and to release the suspended structures of the RF switch. The structure of the RF switch contains a coplanar waveguide (CPW), a suspended membrane, eight springs and two inductors in series. Experimental results reveal that the insertion loss and isolation of the switch are 1.7 dB at 21 GHz and 19 dB at 21 GHz, respectively. The driving voltage of the switch is about 13 V.