3D silicon micromachining – an enabling technology for high-performance millimeter and submillimeter-wave frequencies reconfigurable satellite front-ends

This paper gives an overview on recent achievements in micromachined technology for millimeter and submillimeter-wave applications, from 130 to 750 GHz. The micromachined components presented include the first ever submillimeter-wave MEMS devices, namely a 500-600 GHz 3.3 bit phase shifter and a 500-750 GHz waveguide MEMS switch, a 0.02 dB/mm loss waveguide technology for the 220-330 GHz band with a number of implemented components including low-loss broadband 3Dcouplers, power splitters and integrated absorbers. Furthermore, the paper presents a high-performance filter technology with a 4-pole/2-transmission-zeros 1.85 fractional bandwith bandpass prototype implemented at 270 GHz with only 1.5 dB insertion loss. The paper concludes with an outlook of current devices under development at KTH. QC 20170913