We have developed a new type of magnetic MEMS microswitch within the past year that, based on experimental evaluations to date, should enable significant performance improvements for RF missile seeker subsystem applications. This new type of magnetic MEMS microswitch technology has several fundamental properties that we believe will provide a level of RF performance not currently available using other forms of MEMS technology. The large magnetic forces used to actuate the swith give rise very low series resistance (45 milliohms) and very large (off-state) contact separation distances (40microns), that in turn, should yield low insertion loss and high off-state isolation. Our specific Phase I plan is to design, fabricate and characterize a SPST series-configured resistive cantilever switch optimized for X-band operation (as an initial demonstration of the concept). The switch will be embedded in a 50 ohm CPW that is compatible with our MEMS fabrication technology. To support very high frequency signal propagation, the cantilever and contact region of the switch will be designed to prevent RF signal propagation through the cantilever. A thorough characterization of s-parameters will be performed to determine insertion loss, off-state isolation, and frequency bandwidth of the switch. Based on this information, a critical evaluation of the feasibility of this technology for RF missile seeker applications will be performed.
