Design and fabrication of RF MEMS capacitive switch on silicon substrate with advanced IC interconnect technology

Much previous research focuses on RF MEMS capacitive switches, which present good performance at microwave frequency. However, these switches are fabricated using conventional MEMS technology, which is not compatible with standard silicon CMOS processes. In this paper, a novel concept of a RF MEMS capacitive switch design and fabrication is introduced, which involves advanced Cu/SiO/sub 2/ interconnect technology and may be integrated with other RF passive components in the interconnect process. A series of RF MEMS capacitive switch structures are designed and fabricated. FIB, AFM and electrical measurements have been incorporated to perform characterization and to demonstrate its success.