Design of a RF matching network based on a new tunable inductor concept

We present in this paper a new technique of matching impedances. It consists in replacing a fixed inductor in a matching network by a variable one, and its value is able to change with the load impedance. In the study, the fixed inductance considered is a CMOS integrated one, while the tunable inductance is based on a new Piezomagnetic MEMS concept. A theoretical model of such a tunable inductor is first presented, and then inserted in a matching network in two different ways: inductance value varies either discretely or continuously. The obtained matching networks are compared with a fixed inductor matching network, and simulation results are presented and discussed to validate the presented method and to evaluate the matching efficiency of each matching network.