Proceedings of Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference 2007

Novel Beam Design for Compact RF MEMS Series Switches

King Yuk (Eric) Chan'2, Mojgan Daneshmand2, Raafat R. Mansour2, Rodica Ramer' 'School of Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

2Center of Integrated RF Engineering (CIRFE), University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Abstract- This paper presents two novel integrated RF MEMS series contact switches for broadband applications. The proposed designs are based on cantilever and clamped-clamped beams that can be easily integrated in large multi-port structures. A novel set of dimples are integrated in the cantilever type switch to prevent the unwanted warpage of the beam resulting from the residual stress of the fabrication process. The switches are fabricated using a metal based six-mask process. The results illustrate smooth beams with excellent RF performance. The cantilever beam switch shows an actuation voltage of 60V with better than a 0.35dB insertion loss and a 24dB return loss up to 40GHz. The isolation of the switch is 22dB for all the frequency band of interest. The clamped-clamped beam switch results are also presented indicating enhanced isolation of 26dB up to 40GHz with 0.5dB insertion loss.

eliminates the beam shape dependency to the residual stress variation across the wafer and therefore prevents the unwanted warpage.
II.

SWITCH DESIGN AND FABRICATION

Keywords- RF MEMS, MEMS, switch, dc contact, high isolation, widebandt

I.

INTRODUCTION

RF, microwave and millimetre wave switch networks are widely used in everyday communication systems such as wireless, satellite payloads and base stations. They enable flexible interconnections between various ports and channels by managing signal routing and more importantly they optimize the usage of bandwidth [1]. Mechanical switches and semiconductor switches are being employed in switching systems conventionally. The most commonly employed mechanical switch is the coaxial switch while PIN diodes and FET transistors are the most widely used semiconductor switches. Mechanical switches offer advantages in providing excellent RF performance. However, they are bulky and expensive compared with their semiconductor counterparts. In recent years, due to revolutionary development in MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) switches, they are being employed for different RF/Microwave applications. RF MEMS switches are becoming some of the most promising candidates, as they combine the low loss advantages of mechanical and the small size features of semiconductor switches [2]. Although RF MEMS switches have been intensively studied, very limited work has been focused on large switching networks. One of the existing problem in large switching structures such as switch matrices, multi-bit phase shifters [35], is the switch yield and their dependency to the residual stress of the fabrication process across one wafer. This could result in malfunctioning of some of the beams and thus the entire system. This problem is much more pronounced on cantilever type switch networks as the switch deforms to the curled shape and prevents the switch from turning ON. Here, in this paper we propose to use novel sets of dimples to reduce the stress sensitivity of the beams locally and directionally. This

Due to the advantages of coplanar waveguide (CPW) over microstrip line such as lower coupling to adjacent signal lines, smaller radiation loss at discontinuity [6] and backside conductor loss, the switches are designed based on CPW lines. Contact type series switch is chosen over capacitive type as it provides more flexibility for large system design. Two different types of DC-contact RF MEMS switches, of inline cantilever beam and clamped-clamped beam types are designed and modelled as shown in Figure 1 and 2. The switches are designed with CPW technology with 60pm center conductor, 20pm gap and 120pm ground widths and the beams are suspended 2.5ptm above the substrate. Both of the switches are fabricated in the Center of Integrated RF Engineering (CIRFE) research laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, based on the CIRFE six-mask process [3]. A. Switch design 1) Inline cantilever beam switch Figure 1 shows the design of our proposed novel inline cantilever beam configuration. The initial switch design is similar to its conventional counterpart [3]. However a set of dimples are added within and along the two sides of the beam. By adding dimples along the inline direction, the stiffness in that direction is increased and hence reduces stress sensitivity. This is advantageous in cantilever beam design as the stress sensitivity is controlled locally as well as directionally. Thus, the unwanted warpage of the cantilever beam which is common in conventional cantilever type switches is eliminated as demonstrated in next section. The lumped circuit model of the inline cantilever beam switch is shown in Figure 2. In this circuit, the cantilever beam is represented by a transmission line with characteristic impedance Zh and electrical length Pl. The two CPW lines around the beam at the ports contribute to the two Zo transmission line. Capacitive coupling between the two CPW lines via the electrodes introduces Cp. There is one capacitor Cs adjacent to Zh at off state or one resistor Rs at on state due to coupling capacitance and contact resistance respectively. The cantilever beam is designed with signal line width of 70ptm and ground width of 120pm to achieve better matching at down state. Cantilever beam is expected to have a good on state performance as it only introduces minimal discontinuity and one inline contact resistance. The contact resistance Rs is mainly affected by surface roughness of the contact area as

1-4244-0749-4/07/$20.00 w2007 IEEE.

Figure 1. Inline cantilever beam switch physical model

C--~~~
Cp
ON

E~~R

Figure 3. Clamped-clamped beam switch physical model

Zo
Cs

Cp

i1

OFF

Figure 2. Inline cantilever beam switch lumped circuit model

well as the applied force between contacts. If contact surfaces are smooth enough and the applied force is large, Rs should be relatively small. In the off state, the coupling capacitance Cs can be estimated by the dimple area and the signal line to beam high. However, the capacitance value estimated would be lower than measurement due to fringing fields. 2) Clamped-clamped beam switch In order to miniaturize clamped-clamped beam switch design and make it suitable for large size networks, the beam is placed in between the CPW ground planes as shown in Figure 3. The lumped circuit model for this design is similar to the cantilever beam except instead of having capacitor or resistor around the beam at off or on state respectively on one side, clampedclamped design has them on both sides of the beam. This is because rather than connecting one side of the beam to the signal line at all time, both sides are either connecting or disconnecting to the signal line together. Also, since the beam is connecting to the anchors via meander lines and the meander induces inductance, Lp is generated. Meanders are necessary in this beam design as they reduce the overall spring constant and hence lower the actuation voltage. Moreover, anchors are capacitively coupled to the ground planes, and Cg arises as a result. The beam has different characteristic impendence shown by Zh and electrical length PI similar to the cantilever beam. To achieve good on state insertion loss and return loss in this design, Rs, Cp and Cg must be minimized, Lp must be maximized and Zh should be designed to be around 50Q. To achieve good off state isolation, the dimple areas must be small in order to reduce capacitive coupling through Cs. In both

:./'ivZX~ I
Rc

Rc
op
X Lp

Zo

Lp

Lp

Lp

cg cg
ON

C09

Zn

Lp

9Cg
OFF

Figure 4. Clamped-clamped beam lumped circuit model

designs, release holes are added on the beam to reduce squeeze film damping effects as well as to ensure structures are properly released during the release process. Release holes can be added such that they introduce minimum distortion to the overall performance. The ground planes around the beam are designed to be elevated in both designs in order to facilitate external biasing to the electrode and the beam. This especially provides more flexibility in design of the networks with large number of switches. B. CIRFE six-maskfabrication process With the intention to achieve good RF performance device, a low loss ceramic, alumina wafer with dielectric constant () of 9.9 is selected as the base substrate. To begin the process, first 0.04ptm Chromium (Cr) and ltm Gold (Au) is evaporated on

the wafer. It is then patterned with mask 1 and etched to form CPW lines for switches. The process is then followed by Cr lift-off to pattern DC biasing lines. Cr lift-off is achieved by using thick photo insensitive resist (LOR) and negative photoresist on top. Then, the photoresist is patterned with light mask (mask 2) followed by seriously over etching the lower resist by over developing to introduce undercut profile. After that, thin Cr film (0.03ptm) is deposited. Then the resist and unwanted Cr is striped off. Oxide layer (0.7ptm) is deposited and patterned using mask 3 to form insulation layer. To improve the adhesion of oxide and gold a layer of TitaniumTungsten (TiW) alloy (0.04ptm) is introduced between the two layers. Sacrificial layer is added by spinning on 2.5pim photoresist. It is subsequently patterned with mask 4 and 5 to form anchors to the lower gold layer and dimples on the top layer. Afterwards, l1tm of gold is deposited on sacrificial layer which is a sputtered seed layer and electroplated gold on top. The gold layer is then patterned with mask 6 to form beams. Although electroplated gold has relatively higher stress in comparison with the evaporated and sputtered gold, it is still employed in this fabrication process. This is because our proposed designs are not very stress sensitive. Secondly, electroplating gold is a lower cost process. After all the layers are deposited and patterned, the wafer is released by partial dry etching using oxygen plasma in RIE and partial wet releasing. This it is followed by critical drying, using a CO2 dryer, to complete the process. The SEM images of the fabricated clamped-clamped and cantilever beam switches are shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8.

Figure 6. SEM picture of clamped-clamped DC switch

III.

TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Several clamped-clamped and cantilever beam switches were designed, fabricated and tested. Both types exhibit excellent RF performance. The numerical simulations of HFSS for RF performance and Coventor for mechanical actuation were compared with the measurements, in Table 1, while the measured data are presented in Figures 9 and 10. The clamped-clamped beam switch measured results show less than a 0.5dB insertion loss and a better than 24dB return loss for all the frequency range up to 40GHz. Good return loss of the switch shows that the bias lines connected to the beam do not introduce much mismatch. Off state isolation is better than 26dB up to 40GHz. The measured actuation voltage of the beam is 1 OOV that can be considerably reduced by introducing meanders such as using folded suspension meanders.
TABLE I.
SWITCHES PERFORMANCE SUMMARY MEASURED AT 40GHz

Deposit Cr & Au

Sacrificial layer (Mask 4 & 5)

Voltage Insertion loss Return loss
Isolation

Clamped-Clamped beam switch

Simulated Measured

Cantilever beam switch Simulated Measured

0.4dB2

73V1

0.5dB

100V

0.17dB2

46V1

0.35dB

-60V

Pattern Cr & Au (Mask 1)

Deposit Top Au

20dB2 32dB2

24dB 30dB

40dB2

24dB 22dB

18dB2

1 Coventorware simulation results 2 HF SS simulation results

lift-off Cr (Mask 2)

Pattern top Au (Mask 6)

PECVD oxide (Mask 3)

Release
Silicon oxide (SiOx)

IME IM
I

Gold (Au)
Chromium

(Cr)

Sacrificial

layer

(photoresist)

Figure 5. CIRFE six mask process.

Our proposed cantilever beam switch exhibits a 0.35dB insertion loss up to 40GHz which is much superior compared to clamped clamped beam. This is due to the fact that this type of switches utilizes only one contact resistance in the signal path whereas clamped-clamped beams have two contact points. The measurement data also reflects excellent matching. Less than 24dB return loss is measured up to 40GHz. The isolation of the switch is less than 22dB for all the frequency band of interest. The SEM images taken shown in Figures 7 and 8 for the conventional cantilever beam and the proposed new cantilever beam respectively illustrated that the warpage has been considerably reduced by inducing inline directional dimples thus the beam is more resistive to deformation

resulting from the existing stress of the gold film. In Figure 8, the remaining slight bending of the beam is due to the section of the beam that does not have inline directional dimples. This could be avoided by extending the dimples toward the beam anchor point. However, it should be noted that dimple lines should not extend into or over the bending area in order to maintain low actuation voltage.
IV. CONCLUSION Two novel contact series RF MEMS switches have been

S-para meters
Insertion loss
I~~~~~~~~

Return loss
.
_.

>'

'

presented demonstrating low insertion loss and high isolation up to 40GHz. A set of dimples are employed on the beam to control beam stress sensitivity. This can locally and directionally control the beam stiffness, thus adjustment in stress sensitivity. The switches have been fabricated using CIRFE six-mask process. The measured results illustrate smooth beams with excellent RF performance. The cantilever beam switch shows an actuation voltage of 60V with better than 0.35dB insertion loss and 24dB return loss up to 40GHz. The isolation of the switch is 22dB for all the frequency band of interest. The clamped-clamped beam switch results have been also presented indicating enhanced isolation performance of 26dB up to 40GHz with 0.5dB insertion loss.

_f
L-

-4
10

Frequency (GHz)

20

30

40

Figure 9. Clamped-clamped beam switch RF performance.

S-parameters
Inerio los
--

lsolatior

Return loss

30;40

10

20
Frequency

(GHz)

30

40

-5

Figure 10. Catilever beam switch RF performance. Figure 7. Conventional cantilever beam [1]
REFERENCE
F. Assal, R. Gupta, K. Betaharon, A. Zaghloul, and J. Apple, "A WideBand Satellite Microwave Switch Matrix for SS/TDMA Communications," Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on, vol. 1, pp. 223-23 1, 1983. G. M. Rebeiz, RF MEMS Theory, Design, and Technology: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. M. Daneshmand and R. R. Mansour, "C-type and R-type RF MEMS Switches for Redundancy Switch Matrix Applications," Microwave Symposium Digest. IEEE MTT-S International on, pp. 144-147, 2006. M. Daneshmand and R. R. Mansour, "Monolithic RF M4EMS Switch Matrix Integration,", Microwave Symposium Digest, IEEE MTT-S International on, pp.140-143, 2006. M. Daneshmand, R. R. Mansour, P. Mousavi, C. Savio, B. Yassini, A. Zybura, and Y. Ming, "Integrated interconnect networks for RF switch matrix applications," Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 53, pp. 12-21, 2005. R. W. Jackson, "Coplanar Waveguide Vs. Microstrip for Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuits," Microwave Symposium Digest, IEEE MTT-S International on, vol. 86, pp. 699-702, 1986

[2] [3] [4] [5]

Figure 8. Cantilever beam with dimples along the inline

[6]