The micro-electro-mechanical-system switch performance significantly depends on materials used for the design of different components. The two most important elements of the MEMS switch are the beam membrane and dielectric layer. Thus, the selection of a material for these two components should be done with utmost care. In this paper, Ashby’s material selection methodology is employed for choosing the best material for the beam membrane and dielectric layer by investigating a database of materials. The material indices for beam membrane selection are Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, thermal coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and fracture strength. To obtain the best dielectric material, hold down voltage, dielectric charging, thermal conductivity and stability are considered as material indices to get optimized performance in the switch. To validate the results of material selection using Ashby’s method, the top five selected materials for beam membrane and dielectric are applied on a MEMS switch and impacts of these materials on the electromechanical and RF performance have been presented. The results conclude that the Au and Al₂O₃ are preferred choice for beam membrane and dielectric material to offer good performance for the frequencies in the range of 50–100 GHz.

微机电系统的开关性能在很大程度上取决于用于设计不同组件的材料。MEMS开关的两个最重要的元素是束膜和介电层。因此，应该非常小心地选择用于这两个组件的材料。在本文中，通过调查材料数据库，采用了Ashby的材料选择方法来选择用于束膜和介电层的最佳材料。选择束膜的材料指标为杨氏模量，泊松比，热系数，电阻率，热导率和断裂强度。为了获得最佳的介电材料，请保持电压，介电带电，导热性和稳定性被认为是获得最佳性能的材料指标。为了验证使用Ashby方法进行的材料选择结果，将选择的前五种用于束膜和电介质的材料应用于MEMS开关，并介绍了这些材料对机电和RF性能的影响。结果表明金和铝₂ O ₃是束膜和介电材料的首选，可在50–100 GHz的频率范围内提供良好的性能。