Acceleration of dielectric charging/discharging by RF power in microelectromechanical capacitive switches

RF power, when approaching the handling capacity of microelectromechanical capacitive switches, was found to accelerate both the charging and discharging of the dielectric in the switches. The amount of acceleration appeared to be greater than what could be explained by self biasing and self heating. Since the long-term reliability of the switches is limited by dielectric charging, the RF power-handling capacity of the switches may have to be derated to ensure long-term reliability