Micro electromechanical RF switch
US5578976A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 22, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 26, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 22, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H1/20
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A micro electromechanical RF switch is fabricated on a substrate using a suspended microbeam as a cantilevered actuator arm. From an anchor structure, the cantilever arm extends over a ground line and a gapped signal line that comprise microstrips on the substrate. A metal contact formed on the bottom of the cantilever arm remote from the anchor is positioned facing the signal line gap. An electrode atop the cantilever arm forms a capacitor structure above the ground line. The capacitor structure may include a grid of holes extending through the top electrode and cantilever arm to reduce structural mass and the squeeze damping effect during switch actuation. The switch is actuated by application of a voltage on the top electrode, which causes electrostatic forces to attract the capacitor structure toward the ground line so that the metal contact closes the gap in the signal line. The switch functions from DC to at least 4 GHz with an electrical isolation of -50 dB and an insertion loss of 0.1 dB at 4 GHz. A low temperature fabrication process allows the switch to be monolithically integrated with microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits (MMICs). The RF switch has applicati…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.