Heating element designs for phase-change material (PCM) radio frequency (RF) switches
First Claim
1. A radio frequency (RF) switch comprising:
- a heating element;
a phase-change material (PCM) situated over said heating element;
PCM contacts situated over passive segments of said PCM;
said heating element extending transverse to said PCM, a heater line of said heating element underlying an active segment of said PCM;
a fan-out structure comprising fan-out metal for connecting said heater line of said heating element to a heater contact;
said fan-out structure reducing heat generation outside said active segment of said PCM and reducing a heater contact-to-PCM parasitic capacitance.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A radio frequency (RF) switch includes a heating element, a phase-change material (PCM) situated over the heating element, and PCM contacts situated over passive segments of the PCM. The heating element extends transverse to the PCM. The heating element can have a heater line underlying an active segment of the PCM. Alternatively, the heating element can have a split heater lines underlying an active segment of the PCM. The split heater lines increase an area of the active segment of the PCM and reduce a heater-to-PCM parasitic capacitance. A fan-out structure having fan-out metal can connect the heater line to a heater contact. The fan-out structure reduces heat generation outside the active segment of the PCM and reduces a heater contact-to-PCM parasitic capacitance. The fan-out structure can have dielectric segments interspersed between the fan-out metal to reduce dishing.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A radio frequency (RF) switch comprising:
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a heating element; a phase-change material (PCM) situated over said heating element; PCM contacts situated over passive segments of said PCM; said heating element extending transverse to said PCM, a heater line of said heating element underlying an active segment of said PCM; a fan-out structure comprising fan-out metal for connecting said heater line of said heating element to a heater contact; said fan-out structure reducing heat generation outside said active segment of said PCM and reducing a heater contact-to-PCM parasitic capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A radio frequency (RF) switch comprising:
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a heating element; a phase-change material (PCM) situated over said heating element; PCM contacts situated over passive segments of said PCM; said heating element extending transverse to said PCM, said heating element comprising split heater lines underlying an active segment of said PCM; said split heater lines of said heating element resulting in an increase in an area of said active segment and reducing a heater-to-PCM parasitic capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A radio frequency (RF) switch comprising:
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a heating element; a phase-change material (PCM) situated over said heating element; PCM contacts situated over passive segments of said PCM; said heating element extending transverse to said PCM, said heating element comprising split heater lines underlying an active segment of said PCM; a fan-out structure comprising fan-out metal for connecting said split heater lines of said heating element to a heater contact; said split heater lines of said heating element resulting in an increase in an area of said active segment and reducing a heater-to-PCM parasitic capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification