An overview of the key micromachining technologies that enable communications applications for MEMS is presented with a focus on frequency-selective devices. In particular, micromechanical filters are briefly reviewed and key technologies needed to extend their frequencies into the high VHF and UHF ranges are anticipated. Series resistance in interconnect or structural materials is shown to be a common concern for virtually all RF MEMS components, from mechanical vibrating beams, to high-Q inductors and tunable capacitors, to switches and antennas. Environmental parasites--such as feedthrough capacitance, eddy currents, and molecular contaminants--are identified as major performance limiters for RF MEMS. Strategies for eliminating them via combination of monolithic integration and encapsulation packaging are described.

Date Published: 10 September 1998
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 3515, Microfluidic Devices and Systems, (10 September 1998); doi: 10.1117/12.322084

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3515:
Microfluidic Devices and Systems
A. Bruno Frazier; Chong Hyuk Ahn, Editor(s)