Smart MEMS concept for high secure RF and millimeterwave communications

Abstract This paper presents a fully suspended MEMS based technology to assess the smart microsystem concept. The demonstrator is a redundancy ring for millimeterwave space communication. Reliability investigations are presented showing that the membrane is withstanding thermal stress, vibration and shocks. Concerning the switch, the main reliability behavior deals with the dielectric charging. We present a devoted DC life test stress coupled with a microwave characterization that allows to identify the screening and the stiction effects. MEMS based building blocks are presented featuring low insertion loss and high isolation in the millimeterwave range. Finally, it is proposed a dedicated topology of circuit that includes their reliability behavior.