What is insertion loss in RF switch?
The “insertion loss” specification of a switch module is a measure of this power loss and signal attenuation. Insertion loss of a switch module at a particular frequency can be used to calculate the power loss or voltage attenuation caused by the switch on a signal at that frequency.
What is RF MEMS switch?
RF MEMS switches are small, micromechanical switches that have low power consumption and can be produced using conventional MEMS fabrication technology. They are similar to a light switch in a room, where a contact is opened or closed to conduct a signal across the switch.
How does a MEMS switch work?
As outlined at the beginning, the MEMS switch requires a high dc drive voltage to electrostatically actuate the switch. In addition, the high actuation voltage generated is applied to the gate electrode of the switch in a controlled manner. It is ramped up to a high voltage in microsecond time scales.
What causes insertion loss?
Excessive length is the most common reason for failing insertion loss. Fixing links that have failed insertion loss normally involves reducing the length of the cabling by removing any slack in the cable run. Excessive insertion loss can also be caused by poorly terminated connectors / plugs.
What is good insertion loss?
Insertion loss is expressed in decibels, or dBs, and should be a positive number as it indicates how much signal was lost by comparing input power to output power. The lower the number, the better the insertion loss performance – an insertion loss of 0.2dB is better than 0.4dB.
What are the applications of RF MEMS?
RF MEMS technology can be used for various wireless communication applications in smartphones, mobile infrastructure, IoT and defense. They can be used for Antenna Tuning, Impedance matching, antenna beam forming, phase shifting and developing tunable filters for software definable radios (SDR).
What are MEMS used for?
MEMS is a process technology used to create tiny integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and electrical components. They are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) batch processing techniques and can range in size from a few micrometers to millimetres.
What are MEMS switches?
RF MEMS switches are the specific micromechanical switches that are designed to operate at RF to mmWave frequencies. MEMS switches usages some mechanical movement to achieve a closed or open circuit in the Radio Frequency transmission lines.
How does an RF modulator work?
The RF modulator converts the video (and/or audio) output of a DVD player (or camcorder or video game) into a frequency which can be assigned any channel that is compatible with a TV’s cable or antenna input. There are many RF modulators available, but all function in a similar manner.
What is unit of inserting loss?
Insertion loss is expressed in decibels or dB. The decibel is a logarithmic expression of the ratio of output voltage (voltage of the signal received at the end of the link) divided by input voltage (the voltage launched into the cable by the transmitter).
