R F MEMS CIRCUIT FOR SPACE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

One of the most important considerations in designing a spacecraft is weight. By reducing the weight of a spacecraft, it is possible to increase the payload, which improves agility and also reduces the launch cost [1]. Missions costs are directly proportional to its total weight, thus, the trend will be to replace bulky and heavy components of space carriers, communication and navigation platforms and of scientific payloads. RF-MEMS technology has the potential of replacing many of the mechanical and semiconductor switches used in mobile and satellite communication systems. In many cases, such RF-MEMS switches would not only reduce substantially the size and power consumption, but also promise superior performance. The paper reviews the recent development of RF MEMS switches and switch matrices. Several configurations are presented for multi-port RF-MEMS switches.