MEMS-Based RF Oscillators Using SiCer Technology: New Integration, Packaging, and Assembly Concepts

In state-of-the-art RF receiver systems, the number of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based devices is rapidly rising [1]. MEMS devices and circuits have become important for tasks formerly performed solely by microelectronic components, such as switches [2], reference oscillators [3], and filters [4]. Furthermore, they deliver small form factors in the submicron range and are compatible with semiconductor processes [5], which is not the case for all types of mechanical components, such as quartz crystals [6]. Modern thin-film microsystem technologies push the usable frequency range of MEMS components into the gigahertz range and improve their electrical properties, resulting in low-noise multiphysical RF subsystems. This makes MEMS suitable even for mobile communication standards with strict requirements in terms of bit error rate and error vector magnitude (EVM) [7], [8].