| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| MEMS and NEMS | Monday Sessions |
| Session MN-MoM |
| Session: | Materials Processing, Characterization and Fabrication Aspects |
| Presenter: | S.P. Pacheco, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. |
| Authors: | S.P. Pacheco, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. G. Piazza, University of Pennsylvania |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
RF MEMS technology has rapidly evolved and matured over the last decade. More than 60 companies are currently involved in RF MEMS development with around 25% shipping commercial products or samples to customers. According to industry projections, by 2009, the RF MEMS market will break the $1 billion barrier with about 40% of the total market dominated by Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) devices.1 Major opportunities for other RF MEMS devices will continue to expand as the rest of the market hits its stride in terms of both high-volume and high-end applications as issues with reliability, packaging, and CMOS integration are solved. The remaining market will be split between micro-mechanical resonators and oscillators for consumer and IT applications and RF MEMS switches for military applications and RF Test and Automated Test Equipment (ATE). This paper will describe proven material systems that are being presently commercialized as well as examine innovative materials that are starting to gain popularity for RF MEMS micro-resonators and switches. Benefits and challenges associated with each of these material systems will be presented. Topics such as CMOS/MEMS monolithic integration as well as the use of high acoustic velocity materials such as silicon carbide and diamond-like films for the realization of high performance, compact frequency references will be discussed. Additionally, the introduction to CMOS-compatible, low-loss GHz-range bandpass filters based on piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode MEMS resonators will be covered. Piezoelectricity is also being investigated as an actuation mechanism for RF MEMS switches that would allow handset front-end compatible bias voltages in the 2-4 V range. Lastly, packaging breakthroughs using wafer-level techniques, including 3-D integration and surface micromachining, have the potential to enable low-cost, high-reliability, high-performance RF MEMS devices.
1 J. Bouchaud, B. Knoblich, RF MEMS Market and Industry Overview, WTC - Wicht Technologie Consulting, Munich, http://www.wtc-consult.de.