RF MEMS switches for configurable RF devices

ISBN-13: 9783639167740 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 176 str.

Shumin Zhang

Opis

This book illustrates a novel RF MEMS capacitiveswitch design that is Complementary Metal-OxideSemiconductor (CMOS) process-compatible. The switchstructure is cantilever with fingers for capacitivecoupling. The vertical bending characteristic ofbimorph cantilever beams under different temperaturesis utilized to turn the switch on and off. A set ofelectrical, mechanical, and thermal models isestablished, and cross-domainelectro-thermo-mechanical simulations are performedto optimize the design parameters of the switch. This switch has a vast number of applications in theRF/microwave field, such as configurable voltagecontrol oscillators, filters, and configurablematching networks. To illustrate the applications of the switch, twobroadband communication applications for the designedMEMS switch, broadband voltage controlled oscillator(VCO) and broadband filter, were demonstrated. Thelow-loss, low-noise nature of the MEMS switchimproved VCO phase noise performance. In addition, wedemonstrate the use of MEMS switches to enable largecorner frequency adjustments in high-frequency,lowpass filter designs.

O autorze

Shumin Zhang received Ph.D in computer engineering from George
Washington University, Washington DC, in 2009. He is currently a
senior member of technical staff of Hughes Communication. His
research interests include VLSI circuits design, RF MEMS devices
and their applications in microwave applications.