Dielectric charging in MEMS with dielectric-dielectric contacts

This paper analyzes the dielectric charging effects in microelectromechanical capacitive switches with dielectric-dielectric contacts. Measurements were performed on switches with different contact topologies to characterize the charging of the surface and the bulk of the dielectric under different hold-down voltages and periods. The results showed a strong correlation between surface charging and surface treatment as well as contact area. With proper surface treatment and contact bumps, surface charging was suppressed and the remaining bulk charging was sufficiently small to allow the switches to withstand long-term hold-down tests.