Reliability testing of flexible printed circuit-based RF MEMS capacitive switches

摘要

In this paper, reliability results of a novel type of electrostatically actuated RF MEMS capacitive switches developed by our group are discussed. The test setup used for reliability testing consists of the capacitive MEMS switch under test connected in series with a resistor. A specified actuation waveform is applied to the switch and the voltage waveform across the resistor is continuously recorded. The recorded waveform aids in identifying short, open, or stiction failure of the switch. Further, the waveform recorded can be analyzed to study the degradation, reliability, and lifetime characteristics of the switch. The proposed method has been used to study the reliability, failure, and hold-down test characteristics of flexible circuit-based RF MEMS switches. Reliability testing up to 75 million operations has been carried out for flexible circuit-based RF MEMS switches.