Proceedings oI International ConIerence on Computing Sciences

WILKES100 ICCS 2013

ISBN: 978-93-5107-172-3
Design and modeling oI a robust wideband Poly-Si and Au based
capacitive RF MEMS switch Ior millimeter wave applications
Tejinder Singh
1*
and Anita Kumari
2

1
Grad. Research Student, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Lovely Professional University, PB, India
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Lovely Professional University, PB, India
Abstract
Due to the reliability issues in radio-Irequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches, some high Irequency
applications still need to opt Ior diIIerent alternatives. This paper presents a novel approach to design a robust and reliable RF
MEMS switch that incorporates Poly-Si and Au based layered membrane that results in more stress handling capabilities and
can work on lower actuation voltages. The switch is designed and optimized Ior millimeter wave Irequencies especially Ior V-
band. The stress analysis and mechanical modeling is done using Iinite element modeler. Simulations oI the proposed switch
indicate an excellent RF perIormance with isolation oI more than 55 dB in V-band and a low insertion loss oI 0.1 dB. The
switch requires low voltage oI 13 V Ior electrostatic actuation operation. This switch can be used in upcoming IEEE Wi-Fi
802.11ad standard that will operate at 60 GHz with 7 Gb/s data transIer rate.
2013 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Poly-Si and Au based MEMS; high reliability; low voltage switch; RF MEMS; wideband millimeter wave applications
1. Introduction
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Ior radio Irequency (RF) applications rapidly captured the interest
area Ior researchers Irom industry and Irom academia. In the last decade, various eIIorts have been made on RF
MEMS switches applicable to devices with switching operations that operate at RF to millimeter wave
Irequencies because oI tremendous advantages over their semiconductor counterparts like p-i-n diode and Iield-
eIIect transistor (FET) switches. Low or near-zero power consumption, low intermodulation distortion, high RF
perIormance like excellent isolation and extremely low insertion loss are highly appreciated Ior the devices under
RF category |1-5|. In-spite oI having huge advantages, RF MEMS switches have some drawbacks, such as low
switching speed (due to mechanical movement), low-power handling, high actuation voltage requirements,
reliability concerns like short liIetime, Iracture issues, and packaging concerns |6-8|. Especially, a large
electrostatic Iorce at high voltages oI range 20 ~ 60 V is usually required Ior RF MEMS switches to have reliable
switching operation. For telecommunication systems, usually a voltage-up converter must be used Ior MEMS
switches |2|. The liIetime oI MEMS switches is one oI the main concerns Ior applications that require long-term
service is under intense research now a day. Usually RF MEMS switches incorporate a movable thin membrane,
which electrostatically actuates Ior switching operation. AIter Iew million cycles these metal membranes cannot
withstand more and thus breakage can occur at highly stressed areas oI membrane.
In this paper, we present a novel capacitive wideband RF MEMS switch based on Poly-Si and Au membrane
Ior highly reliable operation in millimeter wave Irequencies. Stress analysis is done to measure von mises stress
in membrane. DiIIerent composition and reverse layers oI Poly-Si and Au are Iirst studies and the best
combination that shown less stress and that needs lower actuation voltage is chosen Ior the switch design.
DiIIerent combinations are studied and the results are plotted w.r.t voltage requirements and spring constants that
is described in next sections. RF perIormance is measured Irom 20 to 100 GHz range and the proposed switch

*
Corresponding author. Tejinder Singh; Tel.: 91-988-800-9896; e-mail: tejinder.singhieee.org.
108 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Tejinder Singh and Anita Kumari

indicate an excellent results in V-band or millimeter-wave Irequencies oI 4.00 mm to 6.00 mm. The proposed
switch can be used in upcoming IEEE Wi-Fi 802.11ad standard that will work at 60 GHz with 7 Gb/s data
transIer rate.
2. Design and Operation Principle
An electrode electrostatically actuates the RF MEMS switch and coplanar waveguides are designed in order to
characterize at 50 ohm Ior coupling with co-axial cables. The operation principle oI the capacitive switch is
mentioned in |9|. To make the switch reliable and robust, it was mandatory to design the switch with thick
meanders to optimize between electrostatic voltage requirements and elastic recovery Iorces. II the elastic
recovery Iorces oI membrane would be higher the reliability problem like stiction |10| can be reduced but with a
trade oI high pull-in voltage requirements. To overcome this scenario, we have proposed a twin layer membrane.
Gold (Au) is commonly used as a material Ior membrane designing but its ultimate tensile stress is 100 MPa i.e.,
iI the stress gradient crosses 100 MPa the membrane can easily break Irom the areas under high stress. On the
other side, the tensile strength oI Poly-Si is 1.2 GPa |11| with high Young's modulus, thus using Poly-Si alone
can increase the actuation voltage requirements.
We tried FEM stress analysis Ior the membrane that are Iully composed oI 100 Poly-Si and oI 100 Au, the
spring constant and actuation voltage requirements are computed. The twin layer membrane is then introduced to
increase the reliability oI membrane along with the required low voltage operation. Membranes with diIIerent
layers like 40 Poly-Si over 60 Au and vice-versa, then the membrane is designed and analyzed with 50 oI
both materials. The proposed switch is designed on Quartz substrate due to better electromagnetic wave
propagation on higher Irequency bands |12|. Coplanar waveguide (CPW) is designed with 60 m wide signal
line, which propagates RF signal Irom input to output port Ior Iurther coupling with coaxial cables. CPW is
designed using Au materials due to its better stiction with dielectric layer Si
3
N
4
(Silicon Nitride). Si
3
N
4
is used as
a dielectric material over substrate and on signal line Ior capacitive switch. Fig. 1 shows the designed switch with
labeled parts.
The membrane is unique in terms oI material layers hence provides reliable solution Ior common RF MEMS
switches problems. The bottom 60 part oI membrane i.e., anchors and one layer oI 0.5 m is designed using Au
and above that 0.2 m Poly-Si layer is used to increase its stress handling capabilities. Au is used to achieve low-
voltage operation and Poly-Si layer Ior increasing robustness oI switch, hence the best oI both makes this
proposed switch a reliable switch in high Irequency applications. Fig. 2 demonstrates close up view oI membrane
that revels twin layers stacked on each other. The holes are provided in the area oI membrane that come in
contact with signal line Ior switching. There are numerous advantages oI designing holes in membrane; it aids in
achieving higher switching speeds, reduction oI biaxial residual stress, reduces air damping and helps in reducing
eIIective mass oI membrane.











Fig. 1. Wideband robust capacitive RF MEMS Switch Fig. 2. Poly-Si and Au layered membrane close-up view
To lower the pull-down voltage, large electrode oI 80 m x 60 m is amalgamated beneath signal line Ior
electrostatic actuation. Meanders helps to lower down the spring constant thus pull-down voltage but Ior a trade
oII oI less reliability; as the switches with lower spring constant once actuated may not recover its original
position due to lower elastic recovery Iorces. This concern oI reliability is taken care oI in this switch while
Substrate
CPW Membrane
RF In
Si N Layer
3 4
RF Out
Membrane
0.2m Poly-Si Layer
(Top)
0.5mAu Layer
(Bottom)
109 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Design and modeling of a robust wideband Poly-Si and Au based capacitive RF MEMS switch for millimeter wave applications

maintaining low operational voltage. As this switch is capacitive, the capacitance varies to either block or allow
the signal through RF signal line. Gap height oI 3 m is maintained in between signal line and membrane. In
capacitive switches iI the gap is reduces Iurther then the membrane may become prone to selI-biasing and
external vibrations can aIIect the actuation principle. To overcome this problem, thick meanders oI 10 m wide
are attached with membrane in serpentine conIiguration to get better elastic recovery Iorces.
As discussed above, the membrane Ior this switch is a two-layer structure. The bottom layer oI membrane is oI
Au with thickness 0.5 m and then Poly-Si layer oI 0.2 m thick is deposited on Au membrane. The advantage oI
using Au is to reduce spring constant and Poly-Si aids in higher stress handling capabilities. Although using Poly-
Si can reduce a little bit oI voltage requirements but the advantages are huge in Iront oI 1~2 V increment in
electrostatic actuation voltage. Meanders are 10 m wide and gap oI 10 m in maintained in between the
meanders so that even in diIIerent Eigen modes the structure will not collapse. Dimensions oI the membrane are
given in Fig. 3. The speciIications oI the designed switch are given in Table 1. From these dimensions the spring
constant Ior the serpentine conIiguration can be calculated numerically by using



(1)


where n is the no. oI meanders in the serpentine conIiguration, G E/2 (1v) is the torsion modulus, I
x

wt
3
/12 is the moment oI inertia, and the torsion constant is usually given by

J =
1
3
t
3
w 1
192

5
t
w
1
i
5
tanh
iw
2t

t =1,i odd

(2)

Ior case where l
a
~~ l
b
, the spring constant oI the serpentine meanders becomes k ~ 4Ew(t/(nl
a
)
3
).














Fig. 3. Dimensions oI designed membrane and meanders
3. Actuation Voltage and Spring Constant Analysis
Using equation (1) and (2) the spring constant oI membrane can be analyzed. The Young's modulus, Poisson
ratio and density oI material should be known Ior calculating spring constant. The properties oI Au and Poly-Si
are given in Table 2. The remaining values Ior the calculation can be used Irom Table 1. The load is applied on
the central part oI membrane that consist holes. By using parametric sweep oI Iorce Irom 0 to 12 N the spring
constant can be analyzed. By applying certain amount oI Iorce/load, the deIlection in the membrane can be
clearly seen in Fig. 4. With the increase in applied Iorce the vertical displacement increases linearly. Spring
60 m 30 m
10 m
20 m
80 m
240 m

k
48GJ
l
a
2
GJ
EI
x
l
a
+ l
b

n
3
for n
3l
b
GJ
EI
x
l
a
+ l
b
110 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Tejinder Singh and Anita Kumari

constant is analyzed Ior diIIerent combination oI layers. The reason oI choosing 40 Poly-Si over 60 Au is
because oI lower spring constant thus lower stress and lower voltage requirements.

Table 1. Switch speciIications
Component Length
(m)
Width
(m)
Height
(m)
Material Used
Substrate 540 100 150 Quartz Glass
Substrate Dielectric 540 100 0.5 Silicon Nitride (Si3N4)
CPW (G S G) 40 60 1 Gold (Au)
Signal Line Dielectric 60 40 0.2 Silicon Nitride (Si3N4)
Membrane (Bottom) 240 80 0.5 Gold (Au)
Membrane (Top) 240 80 0.2 Poly-Silicon
Meanders 70 10 0.7 Poly-Si and Au
Meanders (Gap) 10 10 N.A. Air
Holes (Diameter) 0.4 0.4 0.7 Air
Anchors 20 20 4 Gold (Au)


Further the pull-in voltage or actuation voltage required to pull the membrane in downward direction is
analyzed Ior all those combinations. From Fig. 5, it is clear that only the chosen combination gives lowest
actuation voltage Irom all combinations. Fig. 5 demonstrates the actuation voltage required Ior particular gap or
deIlection. In our case, the gap oI 3 m is maintained, hence Ior 3 m deIlection, the pull-in voltage can be
estimated Irom plot. For numerical analysis, the pull-in voltage can be computed using


(3)


Table 2. Properties oI materials used in membrane design
Material Young`s
Modulus in GPa
Poisson
Ratio
Density
in kg/m
3

Maximum
Tensile Strength
Thermal
Conductivity
Gold (Au) 79 0.44 14,300 100 MPa 317 W/m*K
Poly-Si 160 0.22 2,320 1.2 GPa 34 W/m*K
4. Mechanical Stress Analysis using FEM
An electrode electrostatically actuates the RF MEMS switch and coplanar waveguides are designed Ior the
propagation oI RF signal Irom input to output port. In the designing oI membrane stress analysis should be done
in order to check the stress gradient so that the areas oI membrane that are prone to high Iatigue can be improved.
The stress gradient is analyzed using FEM. Fig. 6 and 7 demonstrates the stress distribution in wideband robust
RF MEMS switch made using 40 Poly-Si over 60 Au layer. In Fig. 6 the maximum stress can be seen at the
corners oI membrane. From the results it is clear that bottom Au layer is unaIIected by any means and the result
is under 100 MPa. The maximum stress is distributed on top surIace |13|. But due to extremely high Young's
modulus oI Poly-Si the maximum stress handling capability is much more, hence it not only secures Au layer but
also provides overall strength to membrane. In this way the membrane can withstand many more switching
cycles then common RF MEMS switches beIore any Iailure. Fig. 7 indicates the stress distribution w.r.t thickness
oI membrane. The stress in Poly-Si can be clearly seen as a top layer. Fig. 8 determines the vertical deIlection oI
membrane in Z direction. The surIace load is multiplied by larger Iactor to show deIlection properly. With the
chosen combination oI layers this result is the lowest that we got aIter many experiments.
V
p
=
8k
27
0
wW
g
0
3
111 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Design and modeling of a robust wideband Poly-Si and Au based capacitive RF MEMS switch for millimeter wave applications






Fig. 4. Spring constant Ior diIIerent membrane conIigurations Fig. 5. Pull-in voltage estimation plot Ior diIIerent membranes













Fig. 6. Stress distribution in designed membrane Fig. 7. Stress gradient in Poly-Si (top layer) and Au (bottom layer)


Fig. 8. Vertical deIlection oI membrane in Z direction
5. RF Performance Analysis
AIter doing the mechanical analysis, the most important results Ior RF MEMS switch are the perIormance
parameters in high Irequencies. To estimate the perIormance oI switch we usually consider isolation, insertion
loss and return loss in both ON and OFF states depending on the switch conIiguration. The S-parameters is
computed using commercially available EM solver. To get the better results we experimented with diIIerent
switch geometries, then computed spring constant, voltage requirements and maximum stress handling abilities,
the design is proposed that gives maximum RF perIormance with low voltage requirements.
The proposed switch provides excellent isolation oI above 50 dB in V-band. This switch is optimized Ior
wideband millimeter wave Irequency applications. This switch gives above 40 dB isolation Irom 45 GHz to 85
GHz with maximum isolation oI 58 dB in 60~65 GHz region. The insertion loss is excellent Ior millimeter wave
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Total Displacement [ m]
Spring Constant, k
F
o
r
c
e
A
p
p
l
i
e
d

[

N
]
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
4
1 Poly-Si only
1 Au only
0.2 Poly-Si on 0.5 Au
0.2 Au on 0.5 Poly-Si
0.4 Poly-Si on 0.4 Au
0.4 Au on 0.4 Poly-Si
Actuation Voltage vs Deection
1 2 3 1.5 2.5
Membrane Deection [um]
A
c
t
u
a
t
i
o
n

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

[
V
]
28
25
22
19
16
13
10
7
4
1 Poly-Si only
1 Au only
0.2 Poly-Si on 0.5 Au
0.2 Au on 0.5 Poly-Si
0.4 Poly-Si on 0.4 Au
0.4 Au on 0.4 Poly-Si
112 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Tejinder Singh and Anita Kumari

Irequencies. The switch indicates 0.07 dB to 0.15 dB insertion loss in ON state Irom 40 to 85 GHz. The return
loss is in between 0.15 to 0.30 dB in OFF state and 25 to 40 dB Ior 85 GHz and 40 GHz. The switch also shows
modest perIormance till 100 GHz with 35 dB oI isolation and 0.2 dB oI insertion loss. The results are still much
better than other RF MEMS switches available Ior millimeter wave Irequencies. The S-parameters in OFF state
i.e., isolation and return loss can be seen in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 represents plot oI S-parameters in ON state i.e.,
insertion loss and return loss.
Table 3 summarizes the RF perIormance. The table demonstrates the simulated results Ior diIIerent Irequency
applications. RF perIormance Ior 40 60 GHz, 60 100 GHz, V-band (60 75 GHz), 60 GHz and 45 85 GHz
are given in the table Ior the ease oI reader. The plots Ior S-parameters in Fig. 9 and 10 indicate the RF
perIormance Irom 20 GHz to 100 GHz. There are very Iew RF MEMS switches that show excellent perIormance
in millimeter wave Irequencies. As we move higher towards millimeter waves the perIormance oI RF MEMS
switches start decreasing. The typical values Ior mm wave RF MEMS switches are isolation approx. 20 dB and
insertion loss oI around 0.3~0.4 dB

Table 3. RF PerIormance
Frequency
Range
Isolation (S21) in
OFF State
Insertion Loss (S21)
in ON State
Return Loss (S11) in
OFF State
Return Loss (S11)
in ON State
40 60 GHz ~ 30 dB 0.1 dB 0.2 dB ~ 30 dB
60 100 GHz ~ 35 dB 0.2 dB 0.35 dB ~ 20 dB
45 85 GHz ~ 40 dB 0.15 dB 0.3 dB ~ 30 dB
60 GHz 57 dB 0.1 dB 0.22 dB 32 dB
V-band (60
75 GHz)
~ 55 dB 0.13 dB 0.25 dB ~ 30 dB





Fig. 9. RF perIormance in OFF State Fig. 10. RF perIormance in ON State
6. Conclusion
In a nutshell, on the based oI experiments/simulations, it can be concluded that the combination oI layers
chosen Ior this proposed switch shows excellent results. The proposed switch has shown excellent RF
perIormance in millimeter wave Irequencies till 100 GHz while require low electrostatic actuation. From the
analyzed stress gradient, it is clear that the reliability oI the switch can be increased by using layered membrane,
one with very high and other with moderate Young's modulus material when combined together to Iorm a layered
structure. This purposed switch can be used in upcoming Wi-Fi standard IEEE 802.11ad that will run on the 60
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Frequency [GHz]
S-Parameters [dB] in OFF State
R
e
t
u
r
n

L
o
s
s

[
d
B
]
Return Loss (S )
11
Isolation (S )
21
20
I
s
o
l
a
t
i
o
n

[
d
B
]
00
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-0.10
-0.15
-0.20
-0.25
-0.30
-0.35
-0.40
S-Parameters [dB] in ON State
R
e
t
u
r
n

L
o
s
s

[
d
B
]
Insertion Loss (S )
21
Return Loss (S )
11
I
n
s
e
r
t
i
o
n

L
o
s
s

[
d
B
]
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Frequency [GHz]
20
-20
-25
-30
-35
-40
-45
-50
-0.03
-0.06
-0.09
-0.12
-0.15
-0.18
-0.21
113 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Design and modeling of a robust wideband Poly-Si and Au based capacitive RF MEMS switch for millimeter wave applications

GHz spectrum with data transIer rate up to 7 Gb/s or in cross link communication between satellites in a
constellation.
References
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|2| G. M. Rebeiz and J. B. Muldavin, RF MEMS switches and switch circuits, IEEE Microwave Magazine 2 (4) (2001) 59-71.
|3| D. Hymanand and M. Mehragany, Contact physics oI gold microcontacts Ior MEMS switches, IEEE Transactions on Components
Packaging and Technologies 22 (3) (1999) 357-364.
|4| J. Kennedy, SurIace mount component reduce broadband equipment costs, Applied Microwave and Wireless 13 (1) (2001) 102-108.
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114 Elsevier Publications, 2013
Index

A
Actuation voltage for RF MEMS switchs
specifications, 110111

C
Coplanar waveguide (CPW), 109
CPW. see Coplanar waveguide (CPW)

D
Design and operation principle
CPW, 109
designed membrane and meanders, dimensions, 110
Poly-Si and Au layered membrane close-up view, 109
wideband robust capacitive RF MEMS switch, 109

M
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), 108

R
Radio-frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches
actuation voltage, 110111
design and operation principle, 109110
mechanical stress analysis using FEM, 111112
RF performance analysis, 112113
spring constant analysis, 110111
RF MEMS switches. see Radio-frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) switches
RF performance analysis for RF MEMS switches
S-parameters, 112
typical values for, 113

S
Spring constant analysis for RF MEMS switchs, 111