Resonant Pull-in for a variable gap lateral contact RF MEMS switch

This paper reports the experimental results for Resonant Pull-in phenomenon (V
_RP
= V
_DC
+ RMS v
_ac
) as an actuation method for a lateral contact RFMEMS switch. We show that VRP is significantly less than the static pull-in voltage (V
_SP
= V
_DC
). We show that the reduction in actuation voltage can be greatly enhanced by operating at the optimal non-linear resonance frequency. We show that based on the applied voltages and available gap at the head, the switch can operate as a resonator, resonant switch or as an impact oscillator. Finally, we report for the first time the timing response for resonant pull-in case.