MEMS Switches Make Slot Antennas Reconfigurable

Feb. 13, 2007
Since their emergence in the late 1990s, several research groups have studied RF-microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) antennas. To achieve multiple octave tunability, emphasis was placed on reconfigurable aperture (recap) and microstrip antenna ...

Since their emergence in the late 1990s, several research groups have studied RF-microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) antennas. To achieve multiple octave tunability, emphasis was placed on reconfigurable aperture (recap) and microstrip antenna structures. The integration of RF-MEMS with the antenna was just demonstrated recently, however, thanks to the efforts of Xinglong Guo, Jianming Cui, Miao Cai, Lei Liu, Zongsheng Lai, and Peisheng Xin from East China Normal University.

The students demonstrated a miniature reconfigurable antenna that was designed and fabricated on a high-resistivity silicon substrate. The antenna can be integrated with a MEMS actuator to reconfigure the operating frequency. RFMEMS switches are used to perform switching between two different frequency bands. In the open/closed experiments, the antenna operating frequencies are 12.3 and 13.1 GHz, respectively, when the switch is on and off. The final model radiated at two widely separated frequencies with very similar radiation patterns.

This development relied on slot antennas, which do not increase antenna-element dimensions. They therefore can be used in planar phased arrays. Construction and operation are simplified, as each switch demands only a single bias line for control. The paper also introduces an on-wafer pattern measurement technique, which does not require individual antennas to be diced and separated on the wafer. The antenna development can be extended to reconfigurable linear antenna arrays or more complex antenna structures. See "Re-Configurable Kµ Dual-Band Slot Antenna Using MEMS Switches," Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, December 2006, Vol. 48, No. 12, p. 2413.

About the Author

Nancy Friedrich | RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense, Keysight Technologies

Nancy Friedrich is RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense at Keysight Technologies. Nancy Friedrich started a career in engineering media about two decades ago with a stint editing copy and writing news for Electronic Design. A few years later, she began writing full time as technology editor at Wireless Systems Design. In 2005, Nancy was named editor-in-chief of Microwaves & RF, a position she held (along with other positions as group content head) until 2018. Nancy then moved to a position at UBM, where she was editor-in-chief of Design News and content director for tradeshows including DesignCon, ESC, and the Smart Manufacturing shows.

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