High power nanocrystalline diamond RF MEMS- A combined look at mechanical and microwave properties

In this paper, a compressively stressed nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) actuator utilizing a thermal actuation scheme is presented. The growth chemistry of NCD films along with the mechanical properties of diamond are discussed in detail. Stress engineering is performed to realize compressively stressed diamond films for RF-MEMS applications. A NCD based bi-stable actuator is designed and fabricated on a low resistive silicon substrate. Tunable switches are implemented in CPW and microstrip topologies and small signal measurements are performed in the frequency range of 5-30 GHz. High power measurements are performed in the power spectrum of 24-47 dBm on the switches integrated in the microstrip topology.