Development of an all-metal large contact force reliable RF-MEMS relay for space applications

Abstract

This paper presents the development of and RF-MEMS relay for space applications. The integration of a large force electrostatic actuator has permitted dramatic improvement of the switch fabrication yield and reliability. The device does not suffer from well-known RF-MEMS issues such as drift in control voltage, temperature sensitivity. The device could be held in the down state for several days, at 70°C, without significant changes in the static characteristics and several devices have been successfully cycled up to 50 million cycles, with stable contact resistance.