Liquid RF MEMS variable inductor

AbstractThis paper reports on the design, fabrication and characterization of a new class of liquid RF variable inductor. These inductors have been designed for 2.5 GHz applications. SU8 laminated films have been used to realize the fluidic part of the inductance. Water and non toxic metal-liquid (Galinstan) are considered. The large contact area between the liquid and the spires lead to high variation ratio of the inductance with high quality factor. The proposed variable inductor is perspective key component for the multi-band RF circuits such as electrically controllable matching circuits and wide tuning range voltage controlled oscillator (VCO)