Commercialization of a reliable RF MEMS switch with integrated driver circuitry in a miniature QFN package for RF instrumentation applications

Abstract

This paper describes the commercialization of a reliable RF single pole four throw (SP4T) micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) switch with integrated driver circuitry which is targeted at RF instrumentation applications. The integrated switch solution is mass produced in a high volume sub-micron semiconductor Class1 clean room manufacturing facility, fabricated on a low loss substrate and utilizes a wafer level silicon capping technology. This device achieves a low insertion loss of 0.52dB typical at 6GHz, a wide -3dB RF bandwidth of 11GHz to 14GHz and a minimum actuation lifetime of 1 billion cycles; and is presented in a small 5mm × 4mm × 0.95mm 24-pin quad flat no leads (QFN) plastic package. Topics discussed in the paper include the motivation for the development, fabrication, long term reliability and switch characteristics.