Two tunable matching networks, one with three bits and one with six bits, are designed, fabricated and measured. The tuning elements of the networks are the Radant RMSW-100 SPST MEMS switches. These switches connect fixed line-loading capacitances to the networks. Tapered transmission lines are used instead of uniform lines in the networks. The 6-bit network exhibits two bands with bandwidths of 46% and 29% and Smith Chart coverage of at least 68%. The 3-bit network exhibits a single band with a bandwidth of 44% and a Smith Chart coverage of at least 23%. A particular load is included in the bandwidth and coverage calculations if a) it can be matched with a reflection of less than -10 dB and b) the S-parameters of the tunable matching network when configured to match this load satisfy |S_(11)|~2 + |S_(21)|~2 ≥ 0.5, i.e., its measured efficiency is higher than 50%.
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