RF MEMS for Tunable Noise-Limiting Filters

XCom Wireless is a developer of RF MEMS relays, high-performance components that have been identified as a critical technology for the next generation of defense and commercial electronics. XCom Wireless RF MEMS provide direct alternatives to solid-stateand lumped-element radio front-end sub-systems, so communications system manufacturers can easily upgrade to this technology, saving weight, space, power, and money. The proposed Phase I effort is to develop electronically tunable filters (bandpass andbandstop) with superior performance over COTS filters in the 30 MHz to 1,000 MHz frequency range. XCom Wireless will employ a low loss, low cost, small size and weight RF MEMS relay to enable the design of compact, high-performanceelectronically-reconfigurable filters. The proposed Phase I effort will accomplish this goal by applying the lessons learned from previous MEMS sub-system technology development programs to this specific filter design in preparation for Phase IIfabrication and testing. The design strategy of stacked assembly of RF MEMS with integrated passive components promises both low-cost and rapid manufacturing potential for specialized, high-performance defense applications from VHF to the mm-wave regime.The direct benefits to the Department of Defense from supporting this effort include applications of a novel integration scheme for RF MEMS relay-enabled filters and other high-performance agile RF front-end hardware. The leveraging of XCom Wirelessexpertise and an Air Force dual-band MEMS-enabled antenna program allows this program to further the development of a highly adaptable, high-performance, low-cost radio filter with defense and commercial interest. The filter technologies to be designed,combined, and arrayed in this program are specifically designed to handle radio and PCS requirements, and the design architecture is equally well-suited to the needs of RF systems extending from WLAN to mm-wave broadband. The benefit to the criticalcivilian radio industry is significant, in that the markets for high-performance RF components and subsystems is large and growing at 35% yearly. The test and instrumentation community, the aerospace communications and radar community, and defensewireless system developers have been identified as the first adopters of RF MEMS technology, with relevant MEMS-enabled sales expected to grow to over $200 million in 2005. Consumer markets for RF MEMS include fixed broadband equipment, wireless LANhardware, and civilian handsets, and are projected to reach $1.5 billion in 2005.