We report an infrared (IR) optical switch using a wedge-like cell. A glycerol droplet is placed in the cell and its surrounding is filled with silicone oil. The droplet has minimal surface area to volume (SA/V) ratio in the relaxing state. By applying a voltage, the generated dielectric force pulls the droplet to move toward the region with thinner cell gap. As a result, the droplet is deformed...

Technological problems for realization of Micro Electro-mechanical System (MEMS) are discussed and an introduction of smart materials (PZT) is encouraged. The film formation and micromachining technology are discussed in integration of PZT thin films into MEMS. Further developments are proposed on PZT micro sensors and actuators with special emphasis laid on exploration of new application field...

The dynamic response of an RF MEMS device to a timevarying electrostatic force is optimized to enhance robustness to variations in material properties and geometry. The device functions as an electrical switch, where an applied voltage is used to close a circuit. The objective is to minimize the severity of the mechanical impact that occurs each time the switch closes, because severe impacts ha...

In this paper, RF MEMS Capacitive Switches for two different dielectrics hafnium oxide (HfO2) and silicon nitride (Si3N4) are presented. The switches have been characterized and compared in terms of RF performance. The major impact of the change from Si3N4 to HfO2 having dielectric constant 20 is the reduction in overall dimension of the switch; capacitive area is reduced by 66% leading to over...

This article details about the design of a K-band RF-MEMS capacitive type shunt switch and some of its major applications. The electrostatic and electromagnetic analyses of the designed structure have been performed using MATLAB and commercially available EM solvers. FEM and MOM both tools have been used extensively for full-wave analysis. Two major applications (SPDT switch and reconfigurable ...

This paper examines the reliability of RF MEMS switches when operational temperatures in the range -60C to 100C are envisioned. The basic operation of a capacitive MEMS switch is described and two tools to examine device reliability, modeling and on-chip experimentation, are discussed for the case of capacitive MEMS switches. 1-D, 2-D and 3-D models are presented with emphasis on 3-D coupled-fi...

The case study presented in this paper is a demonstration of our mixed-signal, multi-domain system level simulation tool Chatoyant. We have developed Chatoyant to support modeling and simulating of microopto-electro-mechanical systems. In this paper we demonstrate the capabilities of Chatoyant to model and simulate an RF MEMS shunt switch. We perform a system level simulation of the RF switch a...