A single-pole nine-throw antenna switch using radio-frequency microelectromechanical systems technology for broadband multi-mode and multi-band front-ends

摘要

In this paper, a generic single-pole nine-throw (SP9T) switch is demonstrated using radio-frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology for broadband multi-mode and multi-band front-ends. In order to improve uniformity and yield required for complex switches, 'stress-free' single-crystalline-silicon series dc-contact MEMS switches have been employed instead of metal membrane switches. When tested according to the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) specifications, the antenna switch in this work shows loss, isolation and linearity characteristics better than the conventional semiconductor switches. Measured results showed insertion losses for all nine paths less than 0.5 dB and 2 dB from dc to 2.17 GHz and 21.6 GHz, respectively. Isolations for all input-output and output-output ports are higher than 49 dB at 2.17 GHz. Nonlinearities generated by the MEMS switch were well below the measurement limit of our system setup. The broadband RF performance, together with excellent linearity characteristics, makes this type of MEMS switch a promising candidate for an antenna switch for multi-band and multi-mode front-end applications.