Abstract
In this paper, we propose the design of an ohmic contact RF microswitch with low voltage actuation, where the upper and lower microplates are displaceable. We develop a mathematical model for the RF microswitch made up of two electrostatically actuated microplates; each microplate is attached to the end of a microcantilever. We assume that the microbeams are flexible and that the microplates are rigid. The electrostatic force applied between the two microplates is a nonlinear function of the displacements and applied voltage. We formulate and solve the static and eigenvalue problems associated with the proposed microsystem. We also examine the dynamic behavior of the microswitch by calculating the limit-cycle solutions. We discretize the equations of motion by considering the first few dominant modes in the microsystem dynamics. We show that only two modes are sufficient to accurately simulate the response of the microsystem under DC and harmonic AC voltages. We demonstrate that the resulting static pull-in voltage and switching time are reduced by 30 and 45%, respectively, as compared to those of a single microbeam-microplate RF-microswitch. Finally, we investigate the global stability of the microswitch using different excitation conditions.