A full-wave electromagnetic analysis of microelectromechanical switches (MEMS) in microwave and millimeter waves is presented in this paper. The fields are obtained by solving Helmholtz’s equation using HFSS which uses finite element method (FEM). The switch is assumed as a two- port structure and the S- parameters are deduced from the fields. Characteristics of the switch over 1-60 GHz band, i.e. insertion loss in ON state and return loss in OFF state are obtained as 0.02-1.22 dB and 14-60 dB respectively over 1-60 GHz range. ‘The MEMS is also considered as a capacitor and is approximated with lumped elements. Using scattering parameters and the elements of the transmission matrix, the operation of the switch is analyzed and compared with the full-wave analysis results. Finally, the S-parameters for different dimensions and frequencies are determined. These characteristics are of great importance in computer aided design (CAD) of high frequency circuits.
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