Microwave and Millimeter Wave Circuits and Systems: Emerging Design, Technologies and Applications, 2nd Edition

12

Reconfigurable RF Circuits and RF-MEMS

Robert Malmqvist^1,2, Aziz Ouacha¹, Mehmet Kaynak³, Naveed Ahsan⁴ and Joachim Oberhammer⁵

¹Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), Stockholm, Sweden

²Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

³IHP GmbH, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

⁴Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

⁵KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

12.1 Introduction

RF communication and remote sensing (e.g. radar/radiometric) systems are facing the demands of increasing complexity, number of frequency bands and standards, as well as increased bandwidths and higher frequencies for higher data throughput, while at the same time the power consumption, the form factor of the systems and the overall cost need to be reduced. Many of today's RF, microwave and millimetre-wave circuit and system solutions are adding more and more complexity (and thus cost) to the analogue RF front-end and for certain applications it needs to meet stringent demands of high linearity/large-signal handling capability (robustness), high sensitivity and frequency selectivity. The current solution of using multiple RF front-end circuits for different frequency bands may then no longer be cost-effective for the increasing number of bands and frequency standards (see Figure 12.1a). Especially when considering the increased demands on size and cost reduction, reconfigurable and tunable (e.g. switched) circuits and systems are perhaps the only viable solution with respect to achieving further miniaturization, ...