An investigation of dielectric material selection of RF-MEMS switches using Ashby’s methodology for RF applications

Abstract

This paper presents a dielectric material selection methodology for RF-MEMS switch used for radio frequency applications. Here Ashby's material selection approach is used to optimize the performance indices of RF-MEMS switch such as dielectric charging, stability, hold down voltage and RF performance. In this work, dielectric constant (źr), electrical resistivity (ź), thermal conductivity (ź), thermal expansion coefficient (ź), Young's Modulus (E) are chosen as material indices of dielectric layer in RF-MEMS switch to evaluate the various performance indices. The Ashby's material selection charts shows that Al2O3 and SiN are the best suitable material for dielectric layer in RF-MEMS switches to exhibit improved performance for radio frequency applications.