Performance of amorphous diamond RF MEMS capacitive switch

Radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) capacitive switches using amorphous diamond (a-D) as a novel dielectric with controlled leakage have been successfully developed. The devices show a unipolar switching response to a unipolar stimulus, indicating the absence of significant dielectric charging. These initial devices exhibit a down-state capacitance of 2.6 pF and a predicted static power dissipation of 10 nW. This technology is promising for the development of reliable, low-power RF MEMS switches.