| Micro-electromechanical (MEMS) switches has attracted widely attention for radio frequency applications such as phase shifters, diversity antennas, resonators, line switches, attenuators, isolators, and tuning circuits to replace the conventional semiconductor switch (such as a PiN diode) since they offer higher isolation and lower insertion loss when operating up to 40GHz. In additional, they consume very little energy, and exhibit very linear characteristics with extremely low signal distortion, making them ideally suited for modern radar and communications applications.;Despite this promise, MEMS switches have faced major challenges in being developed for high power applications (> 10 W), such as high power RF applications. In this dissertation we are introducing a micro-electromechanical magnetic direct contact switch which is operated at low driving voltage (3V) with electromagnetic actuation. It has bi-state (ON/OFF) latching feature requiring zero power to stay on steady state. The 5 mm x 5 mm x3 mm fully packaged device has been demonstrated to be successfully operated at 600mA and 30V (18W) for 20,000 switching cycles. This represents a remarkable power handling capability for such a small device, almost impossible to achieve in conventional MEMS devices. The device is constructed using laminate technology, fully compatible with large scale manufacturing by advanced microelectronics packaging manufacturers. This device has important applications in electronic switching applications for DC circuits, AC circuits, and potentially for RF circuits.;Additionally, with a simple control line design, a MEMS actuator array has been built to address a set of MEMS devices using an oscillating signal to drive an actuator into resonance, then into a latched state. Based on the unique frequency response characteristics of individual actuators, multiplexed addressing of multiple devices in an array can be accomplished by selecting and combining appropriate driving signals on a single control line. This simplified control architecture of MEMS actuators eases implementation of multiple devices, and enables large scale integration of programmable micro actuator systems, such as MEMS switch arrays or micro-mirror arrays which could find useful value in many applications such as reconfigurable antennas and phase shifters. |
