A
radio frequency microelectromechanical system (
RFMEMS) is a
microelectromechanical systems with
electronic components comprising moving sub-millimeter-sized parts that provide
radio frequency functionality. RF functionality can be implemented using a variety of RF technologies. Besides RF MEMS technology, III-V
compound semiconductor (
GaAs,
GaN,
InP,
InSb),
ferrite,
ferroelectric,
silicon-based semiconductor (
RF CMOS,
SiC and
SiGe), and
vacuum tube technology are available to the RF designer. Each of the RF technologies offers a distinct trade-off between cost,
frequency,
gain, large-scale integration, lifetime,
linearity,
noise figure,
packaging,
power handling,
power consumption,
reliability, ruggedness, size,
supply voltage,
switching time and weight.