Candidate:
Edward
Jin
Title:
Monolithic
Integrated
Reconfigurable
RF-MEMS
Phase
Shifters
Date:
August
15,
2022
Time:
4:30
pm
Place:
EIT
3141
Supervisor(s):
Mansour,
Raafat
Abstract:
Micro-electro-mechamical systems (MEMS) actuators have been used in many real-world applications. This thesis aims to apply MEMS technology in the design of RF components and devices. The key benefits and advantages that MEMS devices provide are very attractive for use in RF applications. Typical RF-MEMS switches provide the advantage of low loss, low DC power consumption, and high isolation, with the disadvantage of having slow switching speeds, reliability concerns of physical moving structures, and difficulty in fabricating.
This thesis presents a microfabrication process for RF-MEMS switches, including single port single throw (SPST), single port four throw (SP4T), and single port triple throw (SP3T) RF switches, as the foundation for further complicated RF devices. These switches are applied to design switched-capacitor banks using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and capacitors realized using co-planar waveguide (CPW) stubs. These devices are then incorporated into an overall design for a 40° reconfigurable phase shifter over the frequency range of 3.4 to 3.8 GHz. The multiport switches are then used to design a switched-line phase shifter, capable of shifting from 0° to 320° in increments of 40°. These two phase shifter designs are then combined to design a full range 360° reconfigurable phase shifter.