Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A review on RF micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) switch for radio frequency applications

  • Review Paper
  • Published:
Microsystem Technologies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper is designed to review the MEMS switch by considering key aspects on the basis of mechanical structure, actuation methods, and types of contact and circuit configurations. The cantilevered and clamped–clamped switch structures are explored and discussed. Actuation methods and switch configurations have also been covered to give more insights about their placements and performances in RF systems. The electrostatic and piezoelectric actuation mechanisms can result in fast RF MEMS switches and better reliability but at the cost of increased pull-in voltage. The electrostatic method is mostly employed in MEMS switches due to its distinctive advantages. The resistive switch uses less actuation voltage compare to a capacitive switch but suffers from reliability issue. Nevertheless, the capacitive MEMS switches are prominent in use over ohmic contact switches due to better RF performance and reliabilities by offering lifetime of 3–10 million cycles. The RF MEMS switches can be placed in series, shunt and mixed configurations as per application requirements. Capacitive switches are mostly utilized in RF systems and placed in shunt with coplanar waveguide signal lines. These RF MEMS switches find applications in sensors, resonators, amplifiers, phase shifters, and MEMS satellite vehicles for space applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ai S, Pelesko JA (2008) Dynamics of a canonical electrostatic mems/nems system. J Dyn Differ Equ 20(3):609–641

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Angira M, Bansal D, Kumar P, Mehta K, Rangra K (2019) A novel capacitive rf-mems switch for multi-frequency operation. Superlattices Microstruct 133:106204

    Google Scholar 

  • Attaran A, Rashidzadeh R (2015) Ultra low actuation voltage rf mems switch. Micro Nano Syst Lett 3(1):7

    Google Scholar 

  • Bansal D, Kumar A, Sharma A, Kumar P, Rangra KJ (2014) Design of novel compact anti-stiction and low insertion loss rf mems switch. Microsyst Technol 20(2):337–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheulkar LN, Sawant VB, Mohite SS (2020) Evaluating performance of thermally curled microcantilever rf mems switches. Mater Today Proc 27:12–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho I-J, Yoon E (2010) Design and fabrication of a single membrane push-pull spdt rf mems switch operated by electromagnetic actuation and electrostatic hold. J Micromech Microeng 20(3):035028

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho I-J, Song T, Baek S-H, Yoon E (2005) A low-voltage and low-power rf mems series and shunt switches actuated by combination of electromagnetic and electrostatic forces. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Techn 53(7):2450–2457

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho I-J, Song T, Baek S-H, Yoon E (2005) A low-voltage push-pull spdt rf mems switch operated by combination of electromagnetic actuation and electrostatic hold. In: 18th IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2005. MEMS 2005., pp 32–35. IEEE

  • Chu C-H, Shih W-P, Chung S-Y, Tsai H-C, Shing T-K, Chang P-Z (2007) A low actuation voltage electrostatic actuator for rf mems switch applications. J Micromech Microeng 17(8):1649

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang W-C, Lee H-L, Chang P-Z, Yuh-Chung H (2010) Review on the modeling of electrostatic mems. Sensors 10(6):6149–6171

    Google Scholar 

  • De Wolf I (2003) The reliability of rf-mems: failure modes, test procedures, and instrumentation. In: Reliability, Testing, and Characterization of MEMS/MOEMS III, vol. 5343, pp 1–8. International Society for Optics and Photonics

  • Dheringe N, Rahane S (2013) Recent advances in mems sensor technology biomedical mechanical thermo-fluid & electromagnetic sensors. Int J Electron Commun Instrum Eng Res Dev 3:73–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehara Y, Yasui S, Oikawa T, Shiraishi T, Shimizu T, Tanaka H, Kanenko N, Maran R, Yamada T, Imai Y et al (2017) In-situ observation of ultrafast \(90^{\circ }\) domain switching under application of an electric field in (100)/(001)-oriented tetragonal epitaxial pb (zr 0.4 ti 0.6) o 3 thin films. Sci Rep 7(1):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Emhemmed AS, Aburwein AA (2013) Cantilever beam metal-contact mems switch. In: Conference Papers in Engineering, vol. 2013. Hindawi

  • Fang W, Li S-S, Cheng C-L, Chang C-I, Chen W-C, Liu Y-C, Tsai M-H, Sun C (2013) Cmos mems: A key technology towards the “more than moore” era. In: 2013 Transducers & Eurosensors XXVII: The 17th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (TRANSDUCERS & EUROSENSORS XXVII), pp 2513–2518. IEEE

  • Fernández-Bolaños M, Dehollain C, Nicole P, Ionescu AM (2010) Tunable band-stop filter based on single rf mems capacitive shunt switch with meander arm inductance. Solid-state Electron 54(9):1033–1040

    Google Scholar 

  • Fouladi S, Domingue F, Mansour R (2012) Cmos-mems tuning and impedance matching circuits for reconfigurable rf front-ends. In: 2012 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, pp 1–3. IEEE

  • Ganesh GV, Srinivasa Rao K (2019) Design and analysis of shunt configuration-based rf mems switch. Int J Recent Technol Eng 8(2):3460–3465

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganesh GV, Pardhasaradhi P, Lakshmi JC, Pallavi MSS et al (2020) Electromechanical and rf performance analysis of series configuration based mems switch. J Crit Rev 7(2):321–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Garg A, Chawla P, Khanna R (2013) A novel approach of rf mems resistive series switch for reconfigurable antenna. In: 2013 annual international conference on emerging research areas and 2013 international conference on microelectronics, communications and renewable energy, pp 1–6. IEEE

  • Giffney T, Aw K, Miao Yu, Gao W, Zhang H (2015) Design and modeling of a continuously variable piezoelectric rf mems switch. Microsyst Technol 21(6):1293–1300

    Google Scholar 

  • Girbau D, Pradell L, Lazaro A, Nebot A (2007) Electrothermally actuated rf mems switches suspended on a low-resistivity substrate. J Microelectromech Syst 16(5):1061–1070

    Google Scholar 

  • Goel S, Gupta N (2019) Design, optimization and analysis of reconfigurable antenna using rf mems switch. Microsystem Technologies Micro-and Nanosystems Information Storage and Processing Systems

  • Goldsmith CL, Yao Z, Eshelman S, Denniston D (1998) Performance of low-loss rf mems capacitive switches. IEEE Microw Guided Wave Lett 8(8):269–271

    Google Scholar 

  • Gopalan A, Kommuri UK (2018) Design and development of miniaturized low voltage triangular rf mems switch for phased array application. Appl Surf Sci 449:340–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Guha K, Laskar NM, Gogoi HJ, Baishnab KL, Rao K Srinivasa (2018) A new analytical model for switching time of a perforated mems switch. Microsystem Technologies, pp 1–10

  • Hatem S, Fehmi N, Choura S (2014) Dynamic study of a capacitive mems switch with double clamped-clamped microbeams. Shock and Vibration, 2014

  • He XJ, Lv ZQ, Liu B, Li ZH (2012) High-isolation lateral rf mems capacitive switch based on hfo2 dielectric for high frequency applications. Sens Actuators A Phys 188:342–348

    Google Scholar 

  • Iannacci J (2018) Rf-mems technology as an enabler of 5g: Low-loss ohmic switch tested up to 110 ghz. Sens Actuators A Phys 279:624–629

    Google Scholar 

  • Ilkhechi AK, Mirzajani H, Aghdam ENi, Ghavifekr HB (2016) A new electrothermally actuated 3-state high isolation and low power rf mems switch with latching mechanism. In: 2016 24th Iranian Conference on Electrical Engineering (ICEE), pp 1634–1639. IEEE

  • Jmai B, Anacleto P, Mendes P, Gharsallah A (2018) Modeling, design, and simulation of a radio frequency microelectromechanical system capacitive shunt switch. Int J Numer Model Electron Netw Devices Fields 31(5):e2266

    Google Scholar 

  • Ke F, Miao J, Oberhammer J (2008) A ruthenium-based multimetal-contact rf mems switch with a corrugated diaphragm. J Microelectromech Syst 17(6):1447–1459

    Google Scholar 

  • Ke F, Miao J, Wang Z (2009) A wafer-scale encapsulated rf mems switch with a stress-reduced corrugated diaphragm. Sens Actuators A Phys 151(2):237–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Keryn L, Manes E, Robert L, Marc C, Matthew O, James D (2010) Rf-mems switches on a printed circuit board platform. Circuit World

  • Khodadady K, Ganji BA (2016) Design and modeling of a novel rf mems series switch with low actuation voltage. Microsyst Technol 22(12):2921–2929

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim J, Kwon S, Jeong H, Hong Y, Lee S, Song I, Byeongkwon J (2009) A stiff and flat membrane operated dc contact type rf mems switch with low actuation voltage. Sens Actuators A Phys 153(1):114–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Kula S, Lup AS (2014) Electrical schematics for 1d analysis of a bridge type mems capacitive switch. Comput Appl Electr Eng 12

  • Kumar PA, Sravani KG, Sailaja BVS, Vineetha KV, Guha K, Rao K (2018) Performance analysis of series: shunt configuration based rf mems switch for satellite communication applications. Microsyst Technol 24(12):4909–4920

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar R (2019) Design and simulation of mems shunt capacitive switch for lower switching time. PUBLISHING GOAL, pp 167

  • Kumar R et al (2020) Novel capacitance evaluation model for microelectromechanical switch considering fringe and effect of holes in pull-up and pull-down conditions. Microsyst Technol 26(3):873–884

    Google Scholar 

  • Kundu A, Sethi S, Mondal NC, Gupta B, Lahiri SK, Saha H (2010) Analysis and optimization of two movable plates rf mems switch for simultaneous improvement in actuation voltage and switching time. Microelectron J 41(5):257–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahiri SK, Saha H, Kundu A (2009) Rf mems switch: An overview at-a-glance. In: 2009 4th International Conference on Computers and Devices for Communication (CODEC), pp 1–5. IEEE

  • Li X, Yin L, Hu J, Lang L, Liu J, Xia Y, Fang D, Zhang H (2010) Electro-thermally actuated rf mems switch for wireless communication. In: 2010 IEEE 5th International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems, pp 497–500. IEEE

  • Li M, Zhao J, You Z, Zhao G (2017) Design and fabrication of a low insertion loss capacitive rf mems switch with novel micro-structures for actuation. Solid-state Electron 127:32–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Ruan Y, You Z, Song Z (2020) Design and fabrication of a novel mems relay with low actuation voltage. Micromachines 11(2):171

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu H, Datta S, Narayanan V (2013) Steep switching tunnel fet: A promise to extend the energy efficient roadmap for post-cmos digital and analog/rf applications. In: International symposium on low power Electronics and Design (ISLPED), pp 145–150. IEEE

  • Liu Y, Bey Y, Liu X (2014) Single-actuator shunt-series rf-mems switch. In: 2014 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS2014), pp 1–4. IEEE

  • Liu Y, Liu J, Bo Yu, Liu X (2018) A compact single-cantilever multicontact rf-mems switch with enhanced reliability. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters 28(3):191–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Lysenko IE, Tkachenko AV, Sherova EV, Nikitin AV (2018) Analytical approach in the development of rf mems switches. Electronics 7(12):415

    Google Scholar 

  • Mafinejad Y, Kouzani A, Mafinezhad K, Mashad I (2013) Review of low actuation voltage rf mems electrostatic switches based on metallic and carbon alloys. J Microelectron Electron Compon Mater 43(2):85–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Manivannan M, Daniel RJ, Sumangala K (2014) Low actuation voltage rf mems switch using varying section composite fixed-fixed beam. Int J Microw Sci Technol

  • Mirzajani H, Ilkhechi AK, Zolfaghari P, Azadbakht M, Aghdam EN, Ghavifekr HB (2017) Power efficient, low loss and ultra-high isolation rf mems switch dedicated for antenna switch applications. Microelectron J 69:64–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller I, Fritzen C-P (2018) Failure assessment of piezoelectric actuators and sensors for increased reliability of shm systems. In: Structural Health Monitoring from Sensing to Processing. IntechOpen

  • Mulloni V, Solazzi F, Ficorella F, Collini A, Margesin B (2013) Influence of temperature on the actuation voltage of rf-mems switches. Microelectron Reliab 53(5):706–711

    Google Scholar 

  • Nafde Y, Pande R (2017) Design and analysis of resistive series rf mems switches based fractal u-slot reconfigurable antenna. Wirel Pers Commun 97(2):2871–2886

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair AG, Shajahan ES (2016) Design and simulation of radio frequency micro electro mechanical capacitive shunt switches. Procedia Comput Sci 93:217–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Narayana TL, Sravani KG, Rao KS (2017) A micro level electrostatically actuated cantilever and metal contact based series rf mems switch for multi-band applications. Cogent Engineering 4(1):1323367

    Google Scholar 

  • Negra R, Chu TD, Helaoui M, Boumaiza S, Hegazi GM, Ghannouchi FM (2007) Switch-based gan hemt model suitable for highly-efficient rf power amplifier design. In: 2007 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, pp 795–798. IEEE

  • Obuh IE, Doychinov V, Steenson DP, Akkaraekthalin P, Robertson ID, Somjit N (2018) Low-cost microfabrication for mems switches and varactors. IEEE Trans Compon Packag Manuf Technol 8(9):1702–1710

    Google Scholar 

  • Pal J, Zhu Y, Junwei L, Dao DV, Khan F (2015) Rf mems switches for smart antennas. Microsyst Technol 21(2):487–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennec F, Peyrou D, Broué A, Dhennin J, Pons P, Plana R, Courtade F (2009) Rf mems electrical contact resistance calculation using mechanical contact simulations and analytical models

  • Persano A, Quaranta F, Martucci MC, Siciliano P, Cola A (2015) On the electrostatic actuation of capacitive rf mems switches on gaas substrate. Sens Actuators A Phys 232:202–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Pertin O et al (2018) Pull-in-voltage and rf analysis of mems based high performance capacitive shunt switch. Microelectron J 77:5–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Premerlani WJ, Keimel CF, Subramanian K, Wang X, Aimi MF Mems switch with improved standoff voltage control, April 6 2010. US Patent 7,692,519

  • Rahman HU, Hesketh T, Ramer R (2008) Low actuation voltage rf mems series switch with novel beam design. In: 2008 4th International Conference on Emerging Technologies, pp 116–119. IEEE

  • Rahman HU, Chan KY, Ramer R (2010) Cantilever beam designs for rf mems switches. J Micromech Microeng 20(7):075042

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravirala AK, Bethapudi LK, Kommareddy J, Thommandru BS, Jasti S, Gorantla PR, Puli A, Karumuri GS, Karumuri SR (2018) Design and performance analysis of uniform meander structured rf mems capacitive shunt switch along with perforations. Microsyst Technol 24(2):901–908

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy BL, Shanmuganantham T (2014) Design of novel capacitive rf mems shunt switch with aluminum nitride (aln) dielectric. Procedia Mater Sci 6:692–700

    Google Scholar 

  • Saleem Muhammad M, Nawaz H (2019) A systematic review of reliability issues in rf-mems switches. Micro Nanosyst 11(1):11–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Savita M, Kamal JR (2009) Microstrip implementation of rf mems series switch: Design, modelling and simulations

  • Saxena A, Agrawal VK (2015) Comparative study of perforated rf mems switch. Procedia Comput Sci 57:139–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Shalaby MM, Wang Z, Chow LL-W, Jensen BD, Volakis JL, Kurabayashi K, Saitou K (2008) Robust design of rf-mems cantilever switches using contact physics modeling. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 56(4):1012–1021

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma P, Koul SK, Chandra S (2007) Studies on rf mems shunt switch

  • Sharma U, Pandey AK, Sharma EK (2018) High isolation rf mems series-shunt spst switch at w band. In: 2018 2nd International Conference on Micro-Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (ICMETE), pp 71–76. IEEE

  • Sharma K, Karmakar A, Prakash K, Chauhan A, Bansal S, Hooda M, Kumar S, Gupta N, Singh AK (2020) Design and characterization of rf mems capacitive shunt switch for x, ku, k and ka band applications. Microelectron Eng, pp 111310

  • Singh K, Nagachenchaiah K, Bhatnagar D (2009) Electromagnetic modelling of conductor-backed cpw based rf mems capacitive shunt switch. Int J Electron 96(8):887–893

    Google Scholar 

  • Spasos M, Charalampidis N, Nilavalan R (2008) A novel design for an rf mems resistive switch on pcb substrate

  • Sravani KG, Guha K, Rao KS (2019) Analysis of a novel rf mems switch using different meander techniques. Microsyst Technol, pp 1–11

  • van Heeren H (2006) Appearance of a moore’s law in mems? trends affecting the mnt supply chain. In: MEMS, MOEMS, and Micromachining II, vol. 6186, pp 61860D. International Society for Optics and Photonics

  • van Heeren H, Salomon P (2007) Recent developments, future directions

  • Vikas K, Sunithamani S, Yagnika M, Krishna SS, Avanthi S (2018) Study and analysis of novel rf mems switched capacitor. Int J Eng Technol 7(1.5):37–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Waghmare SK, Shah DD (2018) Rf mems capacitive shunt switch: a study based practical overview. Int J Appl Eng Res 13(15):11830–11838

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Jensen BD, Chow LLW, Volakis JL, Saitou K, Kurabayashi K (2005) Full-wave electromagnetic and thermal modeling for the prediction of heat-dissipation-induced rf-mems switch failure. J Micromech Microeng 16(1):157

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong J-E (2000) Analysis, design, fabrication, and testing of a MEMS switch for power applications. PhD thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Yang M-Z, Dai C-L, Shih P-J, Tsai Z-Y (2011) Capacitive rf switches manufactured by the cmos-mems technique. Microelectron Eng 88(8):2242–2246

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan-Wei Yu, Zhu J, Jia S-X, Shi Y (2009) A high isolation series-shunt rf mems switch. Sensors 9(6):4455–4464

    Google Scholar 

  • Yukang F, Scott NB (2017) High performance 500–750 ghz rf mems switch. In: 2017 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS), pp 1095–1097. IEEE

  • Zhang W-M, Yan H, Peng Z-K, Meng G (2014) Electrostatic pull-in instability in mems/nems: A review. Sens Actuators A Phys 214:187–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng G, Papapolymerou J (2004) Monolithic reconfigurable bandstop filter using rf mems switches. International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering: Co-sponsored by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of Microwave, Optical, and Digital Electronics (CAMPmode) at the University of Colorado at Boulder 14(4):373–382

  • Ziko MH, Koel A (2018) Optimum electromagnetic modelling of rf mems switches. Elektronika ir Elektrotechnika 24(5):46–50

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics & Communication engineering, Rajiv Gandhi University (A Central University), Doimukh, India

    Kurmendra

  2. Department of Electronics & Communication engineering, NERIST, Nirjuli, India

    Rajesh Kumar

Authors
  1. Kurmendra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rajesh Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kurmendra.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kurmendra, Kumar, R. A review on RF micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) switch for radio frequency applications. Microsyst Technol 27, 2525–2542 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-020-05025-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-020-05025-y

Search

Navigation