ALPHA PARTICLE RADIATION EFFECTS IN RF-MEMS SWITCHES
G. J. PAPAIOANNOU, F. GIACOMOZZI, E. PAPANDREOU, B. MARGESIN

Abstract. The paper investigates the charging effect in RF-MEMS switches. The trapped charge induced polarization gives rise to capacitance transient response when the device is biased below pull-out voltage. The investigation is performed before, during and after particle ionizing radiation. The ionizing radiation induced charging and the effect of radiation introduced defects are presented and analyzed. The competition between the dipolar and the space charge polarization are found to depend strongly on the operating temperature.