A novel RF MEMS technological platform
A novel MEMS technological platform for RF passive components, namely RF MEMS switches, tuneable capacitors and high-Q suspended inductors, is reported. The proposed process employs a metal (Al, AlSi or Cu) as active movable layer and amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon as sacrificial layers, providing multi-air-gaps. Various types of substrates like bulk silicon and SOI can be used. Full-dry releasing of suspended beams and membranes is performed with SF_6 or XeF_2, with unrivalled yield/reproducibility compared with any other wet etching techniques. The platform is used to validate new MEMS architectures and concepts, such as the suspended-gate MOSFET that can serve as both RF capacitive switches and tuneable RF capacitors.
Fritschi_IECON'02.pdf
restricted
478.67 KB
Adobe PDF
9f8c893b0aa2760cea7959cdab033352