RF MEMS devices

This paper addresses the use of RF MEMS devices in wireless and satellite communication systems. Novel configurations are presented for MEMS variable capacitors, MEMS tunable inductors and RF MEMS multiport switches. The tuning range of the variable capacitor was measured and found to be 280%, which far exceeds that of the traditional parallel plate MEMS variable capacitors. The MEMS tunable inductor is realized using MEMS fixed inductors, capacitors and a variable MEMS capacitor. The proposed MEMS multiport switch has demonstrated a superior RF performance up to 20 GHz.