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EP0892419A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switch

Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corp
•
Filing: 1998-07-09
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2018-07-09
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Abstract

Abstract An RF switch formed as a micro electro-mechanical switch (MEMS) which can be configured in an array forming a micro electro-mechanical switch array (MEMSA). The MEMS is formed on a substrate. A pin, pivotally carried by the substrate defines a pivot point. A rigid beam or transmission line is generally centrally disposed on the pin forming a teeter-totter configuration. The use of a rigid beam and the configuration eliminates the torsional and bending forces of the beam which can reduce reliability. The switch is adapted to be monolithically integrated with other monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) for example from HBTs and HEMTs, by separating such MMICs from the switch by way of a suitable polymer layer, such as polyimide, enabling the switch to be monolithically integrated with other circuitry. In order to reduce insertion losses, the beam is formed from all metal, which improves the sensitivity of the switch and also allows the switch to be used in RF switching applications. By forming the beam from all metal, the switch will have lower insertion loss than other switches which use SiO2 or mix metal contacts.

Inventors

  • 👤 John J. Berenz
  • 👤 George W. Mciver
  • 👤 Alfred E. Lee

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 23:27
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01P; H01P1/00; H01P1/10; H01P1/12; H01P1/127; H01H; H01H59/00; H01H59/0009; H01H2059/0054

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim 87 words
An RF switch comprising: a substrate; a pin, pivotally carried by said substrate forming a pivot point, a beam disposed on said pivot point to enable said beam to pivot between a first position and a second position; one or more pairs of electrical contacts carried by said substrate and said beam; and one or more field plates for receiving predetermined voltages for creating electrostatic forces to cause said beam to pivot between said first position and said second position as a function of the applied voltage.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 81 words
The RF switch as recited in claim 1, wehrein said beam is a rigid beam; and/or wherein said beam is formed from all metal; and/or wherein a pair of electrical contacts is formed on opposing sides of said pin, forming RF output ports, and/or further including a metal contact in contact with said pin forming an RF input port; and/or wherein said substrate is a layer of a predetermined polymer, glass, or semiconductor; and/or wherein said RF switch is monolithically formed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 70 words
The RF switch as recited in claim 2, wherein said metal is nickel NI formed by a low temperature electroplating process; and/or wherein a field plate is formed adjacent each pair of said electrical contacts; and/or wherein said polymer is polyimide; and/or wherein one pair of electrical contacts is used to connect an RF signal to said beam, the other pair of electrical contacts is used to ground said beam.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 108 words
An integrated RF switch comprising: a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) forming a first layer; and an RF switch comprising a substrate layer formed on said first layer; carried by said substrate layer forming a pivot point; a beam disposed on said pivot point to enable said beam to pivot between a first position and a second position, one or more pairs of electrical contacts carried by said substrate layer and said beam; and one or more field plates for receiving predetermined voltages for creating electrostatic forces to cause said beam to pivot between said first position and said second position as a function of the applied voltage.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 73 words
The integrated RF switch as recited in claim 4, further including vias formed in said substrate layer for enabling connections between said MMIC and said RF switch; and/or wherein said MMIC includes circuitry formed from hetero-junction bipolar transistors (HBT); and/or wherein said MMIC includes circuitry from high electron mobility transistors (HEMT); and/or wherein said beam is rigid; and/or wherein said beam is formed from all metal; and/or wherein said substrate layer is polyimide.
Claim 6
Independent Claim 52 words
A method for forming a micro electro-mechanical switch (MEMS) comprising the steps of (a) providing a substrate; (b) forming contacts on said substrate; (c) forming a beam rotatably carried with respect to said contacts on said substrate, (d) forming contacts on said beam adapted to mate with said contacts on said substrate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 51 words
The MEMS as recited in claim 6, wherein rotatable beam is formed with extending pins; and/or further including the step of forming collars for capturing said pins; and/or wherein said MEMS is adapted to form on top of an existing monolithic microwave integrated circuit; and/or wherein said substrate is a polymer.

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