A novel device for in situ experimental characterization and reliability analysis of DC-contact RF MEMS switches

This paper reports a new fully-microfabricated device suitable for characterizing the force-resistance relationship for contact forces in the /spl mu/N region. The device consists of two gold beams-lower and upper beam-suspended 2 and 7.5 /spl mu/m respectively above a coplanar waveguide (cpw) line. An applied electrostatic voltage on the upper beam forces the lower beam to contact the cpw line with a contact force directly proportional to the externally applied electrostatic force. The force-resistance relationship is accurately established by measuring the device isolation over a bandwidth of 40 GHz. Preliminary measurements agree well with previously published experimental results of gold-to-gold contacts.