Efficient design methodology of polymer based RF MEMS switches

Abstract

We present a capacitive shunt switch topology related to a simple, fast and efficient design methodology. The proposed switch has been realized and measurements exhibit isolation better than -23 dB and losses less than 0.25 dB at 24 GHz for a pull down voltage of 22 V. In order to design and optimize more complex passive circuits, we have defined a scalable equivalent electrical model from electromagnetic simulations that allows a very fast optimization of the microwave performance. The RF power capability related to the electromigration effect of this structure has been also investigated and a maximum power handling of 10 W has been demonstrated.