Computational Prototyping of an RF MEMS Switch using Chatoyant

By controlling the degrees of freedom for the components in the system and using a PWL solver, a tradeoff between speed and accuracy is realized. Electrical components are modeled using a similar MNA technique. The interaction between electrical and mechanical components is accomplished by modeling the coupled energy between the domains. In this paper we demonstrate the capabilities of our system-level CAD tool, Chatoyant, to model and simulate an RF MEMS switch. Chatoyant is a mixed signal, multidomain CAD tool that can be used to design and analyze complete mixed-technology micro-systems. We perform a system level simulation of an RF MEMS switch. This is accomplished by coupling mechanical and electrical domains of this system. We verify our mechanical results using the commercial simulation packages, ANSYS, and CoventorWare.