Pulse RF operation of MEMS capacitive switches

Abstract

Shifts in the pull-in voltage of electrostatically actuated MEMS capacitive switches were characterized under pulse RF excitation, which allowed the electrical and thermal effects of the RF excitation to be separated. The resulted multiphysics model accurately predicted the pull-in voltage shift under different pulse powers and duty cycles. By comparing the power capacity of switches made of aluminum or molybdenum, a new figure of merit is proposed for selecting the optimum material for the fabrication of high-power MEMS capacitive switches.