Al/Au composite membrane bridge DC-contact series RF MEMS switch

A novel DC-contact series RF MEMS switch using Al/Au composite membrane bridge is present. The warping problem of cantilever beam under residual stress is avoided by introduction of the slanting beam. Au-Au direct contact is achieved by using Al/Au composite membrane. The process is based on Borofloat™ glass substrate and resistance is used to isolate the crosstalk between the RF signal and DC driven voltage. The pull-down voltage is about 40 V; the contact resistance is 1.15 Ω. The insertion loss is -0.22 dB at 5 GHz, -0.29 dB at 12 GHz, and in the frequency range from DC to 40 GHz, the insertion loss is less than -0.9 dB; the isolation is -28 dB at 5 GHz and -20 dB at 12 GHz. The designed RF MEMS switch is suitable for the application of frequency range from DC to X band.