Design and characterization of a radio frequency MEMS inductor using silicon MEMS foundry process

A successful design of RF inductor based on a silicon MEMS foundry process is presented. The suspended inductor has been realized in electroplated thick nickel with front side bulk micromachining of the substrate. The overall size of the inductor is about 1 mm x 1 mm. The inductors have been experimentally characterized and inductances around 2 nH in the frequency range of 200 MHz-7 GHz have been measured with self resonant frequency of 9.8 GHz. The peak measured value of the Q factor is 12 at a frequency of 4 GHz. After de-embedding, the Q factor reaches 13 at a frequency of 4.8 GHz. Simulation based on a parameter extraction method has been carried out for the inductor. There is a good agreement between simulated and experimental results.