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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2014

By
Stepan Lucyszyn
Edited by
Stepan Lucyszyn
Stepan Lucyszyn
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Stepan Lucyszyn
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
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Summary

Introduction

Radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS) can offer unsurpassed RF performance over more conventional solid-state electronic devices and can help to implement advancements within a broad range of applications; from ubiquitous smart sensor networks to mobile handsets. Moreover, they can substantially reduce the size, weight and cost of reconfigurable subsystems; making this an important enabling technology for the twenty-first century.

MEMS technologies are already firmly established within high-volume commercial markets. Examples include inertial sensors/accelerometers (e.g. used in car airbag sensors, gaming accessories and mobile handsets), disk drive read/write heads, ink-jet printer nozzles, microphones and digital light projectors. In contrast, MEMS for RF applications has been relatively slow to move out of the laboratory and into commercial products. Indeed, the first RF MEMS papers started to appear over three decades ago. For example, a truly landmark paper was published on electrostatically actuated cantilever-type ohmic contact switches back in 1979 [1]. Over the past decade, however, a raft of interesting components and circuits has been demonstrated. Some of these developments have been reviewed from the perspective of enabling technologies [2], while the real founding principles have been described in some detail within the established textbooks by Santos [3], Rebeiz [4] and Varadan et al. [5]. More recent articles of noteworthy merit have also appeared on technologies, testing, reliability and applications associated with general RF MEMS [6–8].

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Chapter
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Advanced RF MEMS , pp. 1 - 22
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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  • Introduction
    • By Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Edited by Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Book: Advanced RF MEMS
  • Online publication: 05 February 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781995.002
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  • Introduction
    • By Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Edited by Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Book: Advanced RF MEMS
  • Online publication: 05 February 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781995.002
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
    • By Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Edited by Stepan Lucyszyn, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
  • Book: Advanced RF MEMS
  • Online publication: 05 February 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781995.002
Available formats
×