Investigating the Performance of RF MEMS Switches

The performance of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) metal switches were investigated at wide temperature range. Measurements were carried out using cryogenic probe station and S-parameters were taken using a network analyser for frequencies up to 20 GHz. A total of 28 switches were evaluated. The investigation shows a 50% increase in the actuation voltage and a decrease in the percentage of operational switches as the temperature was reduced to 10 K. At room temperature the best isolation (when open) was 30 dB at 10 GHz with an insertion loss of 0.14 dB (when closed). Measurement accuracy was reduced at low temperature, however, isolations and insertion losses were similar to room temperature values.