Group 1: Components of RF MEMS Systems
– CMOS integrable RF MEMS resonators and self-sustained oscillators
– RF MEMS tunable inductors
– RF MEMS switches
– Switched capacitors
– Varactors
Group 2: Actuation Methods and Configurations
– Actuation methods: electrostatic, electrothermal, magnetostatic, piezoelectric
– Deflection axes: lateral or vertical
– Circuit configurations: series or shunt
– Clamp configurations: cantilever or fixed-fixed beam
– Contact interfaces: capacitive or ohmic
Group 3: Biasing and Packaging of RF MEMS Components
– Biasing: electrostatic biasing with bipolar NRZ drive voltage
– Packaging: wafer level or single chip packaging with hermetic cavity sealing
– RF technologies for RF functionality: RF MEMS technology, III-V compound semiconductor, Ferrite technology, Ferroelectric technology, Silicon-based semiconductor technology
Group 4: Microfabrication and Reliability of RF MEMS Systems
– Microfabrication: surface micromachining techniques on various wafers
– Reliability: contact interface degradation, dielectric charging, humidity-induced beam stiction, and high-power operation issues
Group 5: Applications and Advancements of RF MEMS Technology
– Applications: RF MEMS resonators in filters and reference oscillators, RF MEMS switches, capacitors, and varactors in electronically scanned arrays
– Antennas: reconfigurability with III-V semiconductor components or RF MEMS switches, integration on low-loss dielectric substrates
– Filters: use of RF bandpass filters, implementation of tunable filters, advantages of RF MEMS technology
– Phase Shifters: use in passive subarrays for electronically scanned arrays, optimization for long-range detection, and calculation of target detection range
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (February 2012) |
A radio-frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) is a microelectromechanical system with electronic components comprising moving sub-millimeter-sized parts that provide radio-frequency (RF) functionality. RF functionality can be implemented using a variety of RF technologies. Besides RF MEMS technology, III-V compound semiconductor (GaAs, GaN, InP, InSb), ferrite, ferroelectric, silicon-based semiconductor (RF CMOS, SiC and SiGe), and vacuum tube technology are available to the RF designer. Each of the RF technologies offers a distinct trade-off between cost, frequency, gain, large-scale integration, lifetime, linearity, noise figure, packaging, power handling, power consumption, reliability, ruggedness, size, supply voltage, switching time and weight.
