Small, low-ohmic RF MEMS switches with thin-film package

We report on small, low-ohmic RF MEMS switches with a circular membrane actuator design. A low temperature process is used to manufacture both the MEMS switch as well as its hermetic, thin-film package resulting in a very small footprint device. The hermetic seal of the package significantly increases the switch lifetime and reliability. The switches demonstrate good RF performance and high switching speeds. A comparison with other MEMS switches reveals that these MEMS switches possess a low on-resistance while occupying only a very small area on the wafer.