Improvements in Accuracy of RF-MEMS Electromechanical Simulation within Cadence

In recent years employment of MEMS technology (MicroElectroMechanical-Systems) in designing RF (Radio Frequency) systems is increasingly drawing the attention of the Scientific Community. This is because of the well-known remarkable performances achievable with MEMS implementation of RF components (such as variable capacitors, inductors and switches) if compared with the ones realized in CMOS technology (e.g. very high Q-Factor, wide capacitance tuning-ratio, high isolation and so on). Nevertheless, exploitation of RF-MEMS based solutions poses a few issues concerning the design flow to be adopted in addressing the requirements for a specific project. Indeed, modelling of MEMS devices involves the coupling of different physical domains (electrical and mechanical), which usually cannot be managed by commercial IC (Integrated Circuit) development tools. Because of the considerations mentioned above, the authors developed a library of compact models by means of the VerilogA© programming language within Cadence© environment (for the Spectre© circuit simulator) whose features and capabilities have been already presented.