A 50–100 GHz ohmic contact SPDT RF MEMS silicon switch with dual axis movement

• A SPDT RF MEMS metal-contact switch for 50–100 GHz applications is proposed.
• The switch is driven by a bidirectional comb actuator and parallel plate actuator.
• The RF characteristics of the switch are measured in the lateral and vertical movement sequentially.
• The measurement results show that the isolation can be increased using the proposed design.

We firstly show the prototype of an ohmic contact Single-Pole Double-Throw Radio Frequency Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (SPDT RF MEMS) switch operating at 50–100 GHz. The fabricated ohmic contact SPDT RF MEMS silicon switch moves both laterally and vertically, to improve the isolation at high frequencies by initially misaligning the contact part of the switch over a Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) transmission line. The lateral and vertical movement of the switch is operated by using comb and parallel plate actuators, respectively. The proposed switch was fabricated using Silicon-On-Glass (SiOG) bonding process. The insertion loss of the fabricated switch is measured according to the different operation states of the switch, in the range from 50 to 100 GHz. The fabricated length of the transmission line is 4.6 mm and the measured insertion loss and isolation are 9.13 dB and 24.37 dB at 70 GHz, respectively.

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