• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.1038-1043
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• 2003

A capacitive-coupled configuration MEMS switch is designed and fabricated, and its characteristics are measured. Low actuation voltage has been achieved by means of small distance between signal line and membrane. Minimum actuation voltage is about 11V. Isolation is around 40dB and insertion loss is about 0.2dB at 2GHz.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.135-145
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• 2006

This paper presents the theory, design, fabrication and characterization of the novel low actuation voltage capacitive shunt RF-MEMS switch using a corrugated membrane with HRS MEMS packaging. Analytical analyses and experimental results have been carried out to derive algebraic expressions for the mechanical actuation mechanics of corrugated membrane for a low residual stress. It is shown that the residual stress of both types of corrugated and flat membranes can be modeled with the help of a mechanics theory. The residual stress in corrugated membranes is calculated using a geometrical model and is confirmed by finite element method(FEM) analysis and experimental results. The corrugated electrostatic actuated bridge is suspended over a concave structure of CPW, with sputtered nickel(Ni) as the structural material for the bridge and gold for CPW line, fabricated on high-resistivity silicon(HRS) substrate. The corrugated switch on concave structure requires lower actuation voltage than the flat switch on planar structure in various thickness bridges. The residual stress is very low by corrugating both ends of the bridge on concave structure. The residual stress of the bridge material and structure is critical to lower the actuation voltage. The Self-alignment HRS MEMS package of the RF-MEMS switch with a $15{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ lightly-doped Si chip carrier also shows no parasitic leakage resonances and is verified as an effective packaging solution for the low cost and high performance coplanar MMICs.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 2007

This paper presents the see-saw type RF MEMS switch based on a single crystalline silicon structure with narrow gap vertical comb. Low actuation voltage and high isolation are key features to be solved in electrostatic RF MEMS switch design. Since these parameters in conventional parallel plate RF MEMS switch designs are in trade-off relationship, both requirements cannot be met simultaneously. In the vertical comb design, however, the actuation voltage is independent of the vertical separation distance between the contact electrodes. Therefore, the large separation gap between contact electrodes is implemented to achieve high isolation. We have designed and fabricated RF MEMS switch which has 46dB isolation at 5GHz, 0.9dB insertion loss at 5GHz and 40V actuation voltage.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.173-178
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• 2015

In lieu of the excellent radio frequency (RF) performance of microelectromechanical system ( MEMS) switches, these micro switches need higher actuation voltage for their operation. This requirement is secondary to concerns over the swtiches’ reliability. This paper reports high reliability operation of RF MEMS switches with low voltage requirements. The proposed switch is optimised to perform in the Q-band, which results in actuation voltage of just 16.4 V. The mechanical stress gradient in the thin micro membrane is computed by simulating von Mises stress in a multi-physics environment that results in 90.4 MPa stress. The computed spring constant for the membrane is 3.02 N/m. The switch results in excellent RF performance with simulated isolation of above 38 dB, insertion loss of less than 0.35 dB and return loss of above 30 dB in the Q-band.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.147-150
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• 2005

Low actuation voltage and no contact stiction are the important factors to apply MEMS RF switches to mobile devices. Conventional electrostatic MEMS RF switches require several tens of voltages for actuation. In this paper we propose PAS MEMS RF switch which adopt PZT actuators and seesaw cantilevers to meet the above requirements. The fundamental structures of PAS MEMS switch were designed, optimized, and fabricated. Through the developed processes PAS SPDT MEMS RF switches were successfully fabricated on 4" wafers and they showed good electrical properties. The driving voltage was less than 5 volts. And the insertion loss was -0.5dB and the isolation was 35dB at 5GHz. The switching speed was about 5kHz. So these MEMS RF switches can be applicable to mobile communication devices or wireless multi-media devices at lower than 6GHz.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.953-956
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• 2005

Low voltage actuation and high isolation characteristics are key features to be solved in electrostatic RF switch design. Since these parameters in the conventional parallel plate MEMS switch design are in trade-off relation, both requirements cannot be met simultaneously. In vertical comb design, however, the actuation voltage is independent to the vertical separation distance between the contact electrodes. Then, we can design the large separation distance between contact electrodes to get high isolation. We have designed an RF MEMS switch which has -40dB isolation at 5 GHz and 6 V operation voltages. The characteristics of the fabricated switch are being evaluate.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2003

With the progress of optical communication technology recently, the development of micro actuator using MEMS technology has been made for optical switching. The actuation types are various; electrostatic, electromagnetic, and electrostatic +electromagnetic etc. Among them, the electrostatic type is the most popular because of the relative ease of fabrication, integration and shielding as well as low power consumption. However, it needs a high voltage to generate a larger driving force. To overcome this problem, we proposed a new type of electrostatic actuator with an extra vertical electrode in addition to the horizontal one. The vertical electrode also lays a role of making the stable angular rotation as a stopper. From the theoretical analysis and experiment, we find the actuation voltage can be reduced up to 50 % of that of the conventional one.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.183-188
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• 2016

This paper presents the design and characterization of wide band ohmic microswitch with an actuation voltage as low as 20~25 V, and a restoring force of 14.1 μN. The design of the proposed switch is primarily composed of an electrostatic actuator, bridge membrane, cantilever (beam) and coplanar waveguide, suspended over the substrate. The analysis shows an insertion loss of −0.002 dB at 1GHz and remains as low as −0.35 dB, even at 100 GHz. The isolation loss of the switch is sustained at −21.09 dB at 100GHz, with a peak value of −99.58 dB at 1 GHz and up-state capacitance of 4 fF. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a series contact switch, which works over a wide bandwidth (DC-100 GHz) and with such a high and sustained isolation, even at high frequencies and with an excellent figure of merit (f_c=1/2.pi.Ron.Cu= 39.7 THz).

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2011

Electronics in modern life have become more miniaturized and precise and new technology of electronic components has made these trends possible. The explosive demand of electronic components needs more high-speed and accurate performance of manufacturing processes. For high-speed actuation, solenoids, voice coil motors and piezo motors have been used. A solenoid actuator characterized by low price, available small size, and convenience is one of the main components of production equipments requiring compact and high-speed actuators. Since these actuators show millisecond order responsiveness, the improvement of 1~2msec is very important in industrial applications. In this paper, the mathematical model of the solenoid is formulated and simulated using SIMULINK$^{(R)}$. To verify the model, the responses for step input with open-loop control is obtained and compared with the simulation result. In order to improve the responsiveness, Hold voltage method is introduced and optimal value between spring constant and hold voltage is suggested.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.73-76
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• 2007

Electro-Active paper (EAPap) is a new smart material that has a potential to be used in biomimetic actuator and sensor. It is made by cellulose that is abundant material in nature. EAPap is fascinating with its biodegradability, lightweight, large displacement, high mechanical strength and low actuation voltage. Actuating mechanism of EAPap is known to be the combined effects of ion migration and piezoelectricity. However, the electromechanical actuation mechanisms are not yet to be established. This paper presents the modeling of the actuation behavior of water infused cellulose samples and their composite dielectric constants calculated by Maxwell-Wagner theory. Electro-mechanical forces were calculated using Maxwell stress tensor method. Bending deflection was evaluated from simple beam model and compared with experimental observation, which result good correlation with each other.