Practical Guide to RF-MEMS

Closes the gap between hardcore-theoretical and purely experimental RF-MEMS books. The book covers, from a practical viewpoint, the most critical steps that have to be taken in order to develop novel RF-MEMS device concepts. Prototypical RF-MEMS devices, both including lumped components and complex networks, are presented at the beginning of the book as reference examples, and these are then discussed from different perspectives with regard to design, simulation, packaging, testing, and post-fabrication modeling. Theoretical concepts are introduced when necessary to complement the practical hints given for all RF-MEMS development stages. Provides researchers and engineers with invaluable practical hints on how to develop novel RF-MEMS device concepts Covers all critical steps, dealing with design, simulation, optimization, characterization and fabrication of MEMS for radio-frequency applications Addresses frequently disregarded issues, explicitly treating the hard to predict interplay between the three-dimensional device structure and its electromagnetic functionality Bridges theory and experiment, fundamental concepts are introduced with the application in mind, and simulation results are validated against experimental results Appeals to the practice-oriented R&D reader: design and simulation examples are based on widely known software packages such as ANSYS and the hardware description language Verilog.