Modeling and fabrication of a microelectromechanical microwave switch

A microelectromechanical microwave switch manufactured by using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) post-process has been implemented. An equivalent circuit model is proposed to analyze the performance of the microwave switch. The components of the microwave switch consist of a coplanar waveguide (CPW), a suspended membrane and supported springs. The post-process requires only one wet etching to etch the sacrificial layer, and to release the suspended structures. Experimental results show that the switch has an insertion loss of -2dB at 50GHz and an isolation of -15dB at 50GHz. The driving voltage of the switch approximates to 19V.