Design and optimization of a shunt capacitive micromachined switch is prese
nted. The micromachined switch consists of a thin metal membrane called the
"bridge" suspended over a center conductor, and fixed at both ends to the
ground conductors of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) line. A static electromecha
nical model considering the residual stress effects is developed to predict
the effective stiffness constant and the critical collapse voltage of the
bridge for several typical bridge geometries. The deformation of the bridge
and its contact behavior with the dielectric layer are analyzed using the
finite element method (FEM) in order to explore a good contact field with d
ifferent bridge geometries. Furthermore, a nonlinear dynamic model that cap
tures the effects of electrostatic forces, elastic deformation, residual st
ress, inertia, and squeeze film damping is developed, and is used for predi
cting the switching speed (including the switching-down and the switching-u
p time) and the Q-factor. The effects of variation of important parameters
on the mechanical performance have been studied in detail, and the results
are expected to be useful in the design of optimum shunt capacitive microma
chined switch. The results may also be useful in the design of actuators wi
th membranes or bridges. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
.