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This paper presents comparative analysis of cantilever based MEMS switches having different beam materials (Al, Au metals) by 2D simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics based on Finite Element Method [FEM]. Different parameters like electrostatic forces over beam, pull in voltage, beam displacement, thickness variation of metal beams, switching time have been calculated. This paper represents that pull-in voltage can be lowered by decreasing air gap and decreasing metal beam thickness of MEMS switches. Keywords: MEMS Switch, COMSOL, Air gap, Beam thickness Abstract Introduction Design of MEMS Switches The design parameter of the switch for simulation is given in Table1. Table1: Simulation parameter of MEMS Switch Fig.2 shows mechanical analysis of Al MEMS switch, where voltage is applied on top plate of cantilever beam, bottom plate is fixed. When voltage is applied between the contacts, charge distributes in such a way that an electrostatic force occurs between them. Independent of voltage polarity, the voltage forces the top plate of beam down towards the bottom one, creating an opposing tensile force as the structure is bent. When applied voltage reaches a certain threshold value Vpi, tensile force can no longer balance the force and cantilever falls to bottom plate. If value of voltage is then reduced, cantilever releases back up. This creates a hysteretic characteristic (typical of all MEMS switches). With increasing beam area or applied voltage, the electrostatic force increases. If gap increases then force decreases. Fig.2: Electrostatic Force over Al Cantilever Beam Vs. Gap Fig.3a and Fig.3b shows the simulated results of voltage vs. beam displacement of MEMS switch of Al and Au for air gap of 1.8µm respectively. The pull-in voltage has been estimated to be 3.3 V and 4.16 V for Al and Au respectively. Fig.3a: Voltage Vs. Displacement curves at gap =1.8µm for Al metals. Results and Discussions Conclusion The comparative performance analysis of MEMS switches of Al and Au cantilever beam has been studied. Pull-in voltage can be reduced by decreasing the air gap and beam thickness. Pull in voltage can be reduced by increasing beam area. This increase is not recommended due to miniaturization limits. The lower pull-in voltage and switching time have been found in Al switch. Although, the conductivity of Au is better than Al and better conductivity implies less skin depth, which is important parameter for lossless signal transmission via cantilever. References [1] Y.Liu, "MEMS and BST Technologies for Microwave Applications," Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, [2] Rebeiz G M, “RF MEMS: Theory, Design and Technology.” [3] R. A. Dahleh and R. R. Mansour, “A novel wraped beam design that enhances RF performance of capacitive MEMS switches,” 2007, pp Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank National Program on Micro and Smart Systems (NPMASS), Govt of India for providing COMSOL Multiphysics software. Recently Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), have a vital importance in designing micro devices which act both as sensors and actuators. In numerous applications, the radio frequency (RF) circuit is an important component and the switch is one of the key elements of RF signal transformation. In the RF integrated circuit, the semiconductor switches such as FET and PIN diode switches are widely used. But these switches have many disadvantages, such as low working frequency, great insertion loss, low insulation, nonlinear characteristic and high power consumption. On the other hand, the MEMS switch has a lot of advantages, such as low power consumption, low insertion loss, elimination of nonlinearity caused by the semiconductor knot, easy compatibility with the IC and high reliability etc.[1]. At present, the research on cantilever beam MEMS switches are widely investigated on various new structures or materials. Here we have studied comparative performances of cantilever based MEMS switches having different beam materials (Al, Au metals). Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, India * Rinky Sha, Rowdra Ghatak, Rajat Mahapatra * Study of Cantilever MEMS Switch using Different Beam Materials