ISSN ONLINE (2395-1680) ICTACT JOURNAL ON MICROELECTRONICS, FEBRUARY 2015, VOLUME: 01, ISSUE: 01 19 DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF LOW ACTUATION VOLTAGE PERFORATED RF MEMS SWITCH Ankur Saxena 1 and Vimal Kumar Agrawal 2 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Apex Institute of Engineering and Technology, India E-mail: 1 ankur_saxena6481@yahoo.com, 2 ladiwalvimal@gmail.com Abstract RF MEMS switch is widely used for area of communication circuits systems and it enables identification of micro size mechanical switches entrenched in electronics devices. The IC Technology for improving performance compatibility mandatory the low actuation voltages switches in RF application and microelectronics mechanical system. The MEMS technology is reduced the actuation voltages, spring constant, and squeezes film damping. The Fixed-fixed beam is capacitive shunt type switch. The shunt switch useful at the higher frequencies, it’s reduced the parasitic and increased RF power. Fixed – Fixed beam is an element that is fixed at both ends. The electrostatic actuation process is used to pull down the beam towards electrode. The electrostatically process is low power consumption process with higher flexibility displacement output. The paper explains the concept of low of actuation voltage, higher flexibility; lower the squeeze film damping, higher switching speed. The serpentine square flexures or meanders are used to get higher displacement of switch. These all requirement are achieved by using perforation technique in switch. The various type perforated switch is designed and simulated. The comparative study of perforated RF MEMS switch has been done in this research paper. The perforation size 1μm-4μm is used in switch. The comparison analysis has been done with design and simulation of switch. For designing and simulation of switch we have used the software- COMSOL ® MULTIPHYSICS 4.3b. Keywords: Fixed-Fixed Beam, Material, Meanders, Electrostatic, Low Actuation Voltage 1. INTRODUCTION The development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology in current decades has resulted in advancement to the automotive, communication and medical industries where size and mass diminution have improved performance of microsensors and microactuators, such as accelerometers for inertial measurement, mass-flow sensors, bio- chips for microfluidics, RF switches and automotive pressure sensors [1]. Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) switches optimized to work at Radio Frequencies (RF) have been a primary focus of intensive research both academia and industrial organization. RF MEMS switches have replaced the conventional GaAs FET and p-i-n diode switches in RF and microwave systems, because of their negligible power consumption of a few μ watts; low insertion loss, high isolation, and much lower inter modulation distortion, small footprints, low cost, and light weight [2]. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) capacitive type transducers are used to sense external mechanical excitation such as force, acceleration, as a change in capacitance. It requires electrical energy and this energy is applied as a constant voltage (or) constant charge [3]. The MEMS switches concern like stiction between metal and metal which increases the ohmic resistance which provide losses, charge injection due to a very high electric field at down state is the major problem of this type of MEMS switches [4]. In this paper we have designed and simulated MEMS Fixed-Fixed switch with various shape of perforation (pentagon, triangular, rectangular). Fixed –Fixed is a switch anchored at both end. The perforation concept is used in switch to reduce the actuation voltages and increases switching speed. The density of perforation in fixed volume is almost the same. It also decreases the squeeze film damping. When the voltages are applied on the switch, it shifts to downward corresponding to z-axis and get the various displacements. The perforation geometry used for designed and simulation is triangular, rectangular, pentagon. The switch is provided various z-component displacements at various applied voltages. The switch uses square Meanders which is increases the flexibility. The serpentine meanders and perforation both are techniques used to low actuation voltages and increases switching speed. The pull in voltage is voltage that contact the movable beam and electrode each other. The switch pull down when applied voltage is greater than the electrostatic pull-in voltage, applied between the movable beam and the electrode. In this state (the down-state) incident signals are reflected due to the construction of a low impedance path through the dielectric and the switch to ground. The COMSOL ® MULTIPHYSICS 4.3b software is used for design and simulate MEMS switch. The aim and research of this paper is that the design and simulation of switch at low actuation voltage with various geometry of perforation. 2. EXPERIMENTAL 2.1 STRUCTURE OF SWITCH AND PRINCIPLE The proposed switch having hafnium oxide dielectric material which has the value of dielectric constant is very high. The Fixed-Fixed beam or Fixed-Fixed MEMS switch is fixed on both ends above free gap. The Fixed-Fixed switch all dimensions are in micrometers. The meanders are included in side of membrane to lower down the actuation voltages. The meanders are the present at top end of the membrane to give a proper space for movement. The gap height is of 2μm is maintained between pull down electrode and membrane as it is needed to optimize the pull-down voltage and gap. Otherwise, the membrane may become prone to self-biasing and external vibrations, and then it would not be possible to recover the membrane’s position due to elastic recovery forces. The proposed switch is electrostatic actuated by electrostatic force. When a voltage is applied to the pull-down electrode, the membrane connected to the grounds and snapped down the beam. In this the perforation is done on fixed volume with various shapes. The various type of perforation provides large