Compact thin-film packaged RF-MEMS switched capacitors

Kevin Nadaud (1) , Fabien Roubeau (1) , Arnaud Pothier (1) , Linzhang Yang (2) , Romain Stefanini (2) , Pierre Blondy (1)

1 XLIM-RFEI - RF-ELITE : RF-Electronique Imprimée pour les Télécommunications et l'Energie
2 AirMems

This paper presents the design, the realization and the measurement of a thin-film packaged RF-MEMS switched capacitors. Packaging is included in microelectronics fabrication process, with Silicon Nitride thin film. The capacitors are actuated by deflecting thin gold metal membranes towards the package dielectric, increasing the capacitance by a factor 2.3. The device size, including its packaging, is 50 × 40μm². Pull-in and release voltages have less than 5V variation between 20°C and 85°C. The device has been tested with 20 dBm applied power and shows no sensitivity to incident power.

Keywords: Capacitors; Switches; Si3N4; packaged RF-MEMS

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]; Micro and nanotechnologies/Microelectronics

Kevin Nadaud, Fabien Roubeau, Arnaud Pothier, Linzhang Yang, Romain Stefanini, et al.. Compact thin-film packaged RF-MEMS switched capacitors. 2016 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2016), May 2016, San Francisco, CA, United States. ⟨10.1109/MWSYM.2016.7540062⟩. ⟨hal-01514622⟩