Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process

Due to its excellent electrical performance, mechanical reliability, and thermal stability, electroplated gold is still the most commonly used material for movable beams in RF MEMS switches. This paper investigates the influence of process conditions on the quality and growth rate of gold electropla...

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Main Authors: Lifeng Wang, Lili Jiang, Ning Ma, Xiaodong Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Micromachines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1085
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author Lifeng Wang
Lili Jiang
Ning Ma
Xiaodong Huang
author_facet Lifeng Wang
Lili Jiang
Ning Ma
Xiaodong Huang
author_sort Lifeng Wang
collection DOAJ
description Due to its excellent electrical performance, mechanical reliability, and thermal stability, electroplated gold is still the most commonly used material for movable beams in RF MEMS switches. This paper investigates the influence of process conditions on the quality and growth rate of gold electroplating, and the optimized process parameters for the gold electroplating process are obtained. The characterization of the optimized electroplated gold layer shows that it has small surface roughness and excellent thermal stability. With this optimized gold electroplating process, the RF MEMS switches are fabricated and hermetic packaged. In order to obtain the temperature environment adaptability of the packaged switch, the influence of working temperature is studied. The temperature effects on mechanical performance (includes pull-in voltage and lifetime) and RF performance (includes insertion loss and isolation) are revealed.
format Article
id doaj-art-3ee78f97d3f54bf697f9b57f2fc73b03
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issn 2072-666X
language English
publishDate 2024-08-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Micromachines
spelling doaj-art-3ee78f97d3f54bf697f9b57f2fc73b032025-08-20T01:55:41ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2024-08-01159108510.3390/mi15091085Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating ProcessLifeng Wang0Lili Jiang1Ning Ma2Xiaodong Huang3Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaKey Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaKey Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaKey Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaDue to its excellent electrical performance, mechanical reliability, and thermal stability, electroplated gold is still the most commonly used material for movable beams in RF MEMS switches. This paper investigates the influence of process conditions on the quality and growth rate of gold electroplating, and the optimized process parameters for the gold electroplating process are obtained. The characterization of the optimized electroplated gold layer shows that it has small surface roughness and excellent thermal stability. With this optimized gold electroplating process, the RF MEMS switches are fabricated and hermetic packaged. In order to obtain the temperature environment adaptability of the packaged switch, the influence of working temperature is studied. The temperature effects on mechanical performance (includes pull-in voltage and lifetime) and RF performance (includes insertion loss and isolation) are revealed.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1085RF MEMS switchgold electroplating processtemperature effectspull-in voltagelifetime
spellingShingle Lifeng Wang
Lili Jiang
Ning Ma
Xiaodong Huang
Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
Micromachines
RF MEMS switch
gold electroplating process
temperature effects
pull-in voltage
lifetime
title Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
title_full Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
title_fullStr Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
title_full_unstemmed Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
title_short Temperature Effects in Packaged RF MEMS Switches with Optimized Gold Electroplating Process
title_sort temperature effects in packaged rf mems switches with optimized gold electroplating process
topic RF MEMS switch
gold electroplating process
temperature effects
pull-in voltage
lifetime
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/9/1085
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AT xiaodonghuang temperatureeffectsinpackagedrfmemsswitcheswithoptimizedgoldelectroplatingprocess