Multi-contact radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems switch with power divider/combiner structure for high power applications

Design, fabrication, and measurement of a metal-contact radiofrequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems switch with a power divider/combiner structure for high power applications are presented in this work. The multi-contact switch with parallel cantilever beams is implemented in a Y-junction power divider/combiner, which suppresses the uneven current distribution through each contact and results in higher power handling capability at high frequency. The measurement results indicate the excellent RF performance of the switch fabricated on the Borofloat glass substrate with insertion loss and isolation of 0.22 dB and 29 dB@10 GHz, respectively. A lumped-element model is developed and it fits well with the measured S-parameters with the contact resistance of 0.6 Ω and up-state capacitance of 1 fF for each contact. The switch can handle power up to 2 W@10 GHz under prolonged hold-down conditions for 2 h. The reliability measurement shows that the packaged switch can operate for over 1 million cycles at 200 mA under cold-switching conditions.