Can MEMS Technology Provide Switching Components Necessary for Next Generation Radar Systems

摘要

This paper will inform the reader of how the use of MEMS switches in radar systems has the potential for significant performance improvements. The need for improved radars is defined with a description of one technology driver of MEMS switches. MEMS switch technologies are introduced to establish a foundation of knowledge for the rest of the paper. Significant research has been done in the area of applying MEMS technologies to radar systems. The reader will find information on four MEMS capacitive shunt switches, which were devised at the University of Michigan. The performance of each switch is presented along with the theory behind each device.