G-band rectangular waveguide filter fabricated using deep reactive ion etching and bonding processes

A G-band microelectromechanical system (MEMS) rectangular waveguide iris filter is designed and fabricated. The effects of the metallised layer and iris thickness, and roughness, on filter main performances are investigated. The prototypes were fabricated using MEMS manufacturing techniques. The key technique problems including deep etching, electroplating and bonding are researched and settled. The measured insertion loss can get to be 1.5-2.0 dB, the central frequency is 174 GHz, the bandwidth is 9.6 GHz, and the isolation out of the bandpass is larger than 15 dB. The test results show that the radio frequency MEMS filter meets practical requirements, which proves that it is a successful example for fabricating such rectangular waveguide devices at one to several hundred gigahertz frequencies using such presented processes. © 2012 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.