Mike W. Denhoff

PRESENTATION: : Fabrication of a microwave MEMS switch

We are developing a fabrication process for a MEMS microwave switch. Our aim is to make a switch that operates from dc to 40 GHz with low insertion loss and high isolation. The switch is based on a coplanar waveguide design with a cantilever or bridge mounted contact to open and close the switch. We have made a working switch with an on state insertion loss less than 0.3 dB and an off state isolation of 45 dB at 4 GHz. Material properties and mechanical design are important in the operation of the switch. The fabrication process and future improvements will be described with consideration of the materials properties.

Biography:

Dr. Denhoff received a Ph.D. in Physics from Simon Fraser University in 1985. He then joined the National Research Council as a Research Associate with the MBE group where he studied Si-Ge strained layers and superlattices. In 1988, he switched to developing microfabrication techniques for high temperature superconducting electronic devices such as Josephson junctions and microwave filters. This involved the growth of epitaxial YBaCuO films. In 1999, he began to work on the fabrication of MEMS microwave switches using the technique of surface micromachining.