Utility of RF MEMS miniature switched capacitors in phase shifting applications

This paper demonstrates research carried out towards the development of switched capacitors having miniature dimensions. Such devices are based on the Radio Frequency Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (RF MEMS) technique which has gained prominence in implementing a wide variety of microwave and millimetre devices till date. Switched capacitors having standard or conventional dimensions are prone to several limitations which are addressed by scaling down the standard dimensions by 150× times (in terms of area requirement). Such switched capacitors are employed to develop phase shifters working in K-band (22 GHz) frequency range to yield appreciable performance both in terms of electromechanical and RF characterizations. Such switched capacitors are utilized to develop phase shifters which find immense applications in the design of Phased Array RADARs. Switched capacitors fabricated on 500 µm thick quartz substrates, result in 30° phase shift (0.66 mm × 1 mm in dimension) with associated minimum −0.18 dB insertion loss and better than −21 dB reflection coefficient at 22 GHz frequency. Electromechanical characterization reports an actuation voltage of 14.6 V, mechanical vibration frequency of 2.5 MHz and a switching time of 620 ns respectively. Demonstrations showing complete realization of 180° phase shifter (4 mm × 1 mm) employing a cascaded arrangement of six similar 30° unit cells are also included in this paper.