Stress Suppression Design for Radiofrequency Microelectromechanical System Switch Based on a Flexible Substrate

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Flexible Radio Frequency Microelectromechanical Systems (RF MEMS) switches face challenges with stress induced by substrate bending.
• This stress can degrade performance and reliability in conventional designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and demonstrate a novel stress suppression design for flexible RF MEMS switches.
• To investigate the effectiveness of an S-shaped microspring structure in isolating bending stress.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of RF MEMS switches with an S-shaped microspring using a two-step etching process.
• Theoretical and experimental research to analyze stress isolation and performance.
• Comparison with conventional non-microspring switches under varying substrate curvatures.

Main Results:

• RF MEMS switches with S-shaped microsprings demonstrated superior microwave performance.
• Stable driving voltage was observed under different substrate curvatures.
• Successful suppression of bending stress was confirmed by the S-shaped microspring and island structure.

Conclusions:

• The S-shaped microspring design effectively mitigates bending stress in flexible RF MEMS switches.
• This design offers improved performance and reliability for flexible electronic applications.
• The concept is adaptable for other flexible devices.