A comparison between voltage waveforms to enhance the lifetime of MEMS switch

Dielectric charging and mechanical bouncing are two vital lifetime limiting factors of RF MEMS switches. Among the numerous approaches to improve the reliability of RF MEMS switch, tailoring the applied actuation voltage waveform is an approach that does not require physical changes to the MEMS switch design. This paper compares the performance of different actuation voltage waveforms in terms of their capability of reducing dielectric charging and contact bouncing, sensitivity to MEMS switch variations, the resulting switching speed and the complexity in their implementation.