Simulation and Design on Structure for Experimental Verification of Dielectric Charging of Millimeter-wave MEMS Switches

Lifetimes of RF MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical systems) capacitive switches are hindered by dielectric charging effects. A novel test structure for experimental verification of millimeter-wave MEMS switch dielectric accumulation charge is presented. The structure, which is designed using EM simulation software CST Microwave Studio and HFSS, consists of Coplanar Waveguide (CPW), a 2-way power divider and two symmetric capacitive MEMS switches. The input signal is equally divided into two output signals in the 2-way power divider due to symmetry, and the isolation between two output ports the power divider of is less than -48dB at 35GHz. The designed millimeter-wave capacitive MEMS shunt switch has 0.076dB insertion and -55dB isolation at 35GHz. The two symmetric capacitive MEMS switches in this structure can provide a strong comparability for different switch dielectric accumulation charge situations.