Alpha particle radiation effects in RF MEMS capacitive switches

0026-2714/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.microrel.2008.06.047 * Corresponding author. Address: LAAS CNRS, 7, Toulouse Cedex 4, France. Tel.: +33 561337900; fax: E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Papaioannou) The paper investigates the effect of 5 MeV alpha particle irradiation in RF MEMS capacitive switches with silicon nitride dielectric film. The investigation included MIM capacitors in order to obtain a better insight on the irradiation introduced defects in the dielectric film. The assessment employed the thermally stimulated depolarization currents method for MIM capacitors and the capacitance–voltage characteristic for MEMS switches. Asymmetric charging was monitored in MIM capacitors due different contact electrodes and injected charge interactions. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.