Aurélie Verger

Sub-hundred nanosecond electrostatic actuated RF MEMS switched capacitors

This paper presents a new mechanical architecture for RF MEMS components that are able to achieve reconfiguration faster than conventional MEMS switches. For most MEMS switches, the electrical switching speed is generally limited to a few microseconds, inherently restricted by the delay required to mechanically move their mobile membrane up and down. By using a proper mechanical design and the structural material fabrication process, this paper will show miniature bridges that are able to exhibit mechanical resonance frequencies over 10 MHz range to be compared to the few tens of kHz for conventional RF MEMS switches. As a result, the switching speed of these miniature components is greatly improved and reaches 50 to 100 ns. Such performance has been achieved using composite micro-beams based on the multilayer material assembly of alumina/aluminum/alumina. To our knowledge, this is the fastest switching speed reported for RF MEMS components so far.

Nanogap MEMS micro-relay with 70 ns switching speed

This paper presents Micro-electro-mechanical relays for very fast switching applications. Prototype relays have been fabricated tested and demonstrated reconfiguration capabilities as fast as 70 ns with a 300 ns additional settling time once electrical contact is fully stabilized. Such switching speed has been previously demonstrated on capacitive RF-MEMS switches, but this is the first time that such a fast mechanical switching is reported on relays, i.e. ohmic contact switches. The ability to open or close a contact at such speed can lead to many applications such as ultra low power electromechanical computing, or harsh environment electronics.