Electromechanical design space exploration for electrostatically actuated ohmic switches using extended parallel plate compact model

• An analytical compact model of a MEMS ohmic switch is developed and validated.
• A switch design space exploration is performed based on the compact model.
• A corresponding parameter extraction methodology is compiled.
• The model is compared with numerical simulations and real measurements.
• The compact model is verified for logic design and circuit level simulations.

The nanoscaled electrostatically actuated electromechanical ohmic switch is an emerging device with advanced performance in terms of ION/IOFFION/IOFF ratio. It is imperative that compact models accompany such novel devices in order to fully evaluate their potential at the circuit-level. A minimal, yet, adequate compact model is developed and analyzed in this work. Further, the model is used as a compass for switch design space exploration and, simultaneously, a corresponding parameter extraction methodology is compiled. The application on data from numerical simulations and on measurements of fabricated devices, verifies the potential of the model, while circuit-level simulations validate its robustness within an industrial IC design environment.