A parametric study of thermal effects on the reliability of RF MEMS switches

The influence of thermal effects on the reliability of RF MEMS switches is investigated in this paper. Low power consumption and capacity to handle high power at very high frequency elevate the scope of RF MEMS in the field of satellite and mobile communication technology immensely. The reliability of these switches are still under consideration as they fail due to thermal stresses developed during operation. A significant temperature rise occurs while transmitting high power at high frequency. In this paper, we introduced design parameters and investigated their influence to improve the switch's resistance to acute thermal stresses. A three dimensional finite element model of RF MEMS switch was simulated. A current density model and a thermal model were coupled to calculate the current density, heat loss and temperature rise within the domain. The maximum frequency and power range that the switch can handle before buckling failure were estimated.