An integrated RF MEMS tunable filter

This paper reports on a high-performance MEMS lumped bandpass filter continuously tuned from 1 GHz to 0.6 GHz using 12 electrostatically actuated MEMS capacitors. To demonstrate the benefits of MEMS technologies, a reconfigurable filter array is implemented on a PCB using SMT components and its performance is compared to that of the MEMS filter. Besides the advantage in size, the MEMS filter also exhibits lower loss and greater rejection. To become a viable solution for RF applications, other performance specifications of MEMS filters such as tuning speed and reliability need to be improved.