Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lowell Kent Sherman

Steve Todd Nicholas

Bryan Charles Gundrum

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) transfer switch is disclosed. The transfer switch comprises a single-pole, N-throw switch section having N selectable switches. Each selectable switch of the N selectable switches has an input, a control terminal and an output. An electrically conductive line is coupled to each of the selectable switches of the N selectable switches. The transfer switch includes a single-pole, M-throw switch section having M selectable switches coupled to the conductive line, each selectable switch of the M selectable switches having an output, a control terminal and an input. The single-pole, N-throw switch section and the single-pole, M-throw switch section are packaged in a single micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) die. The N and M are numbers between two and eight and the N selectable switches and the M selectable switches are different switches.

Configurable micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) transfer switch and methods

A radio frequency (RF) front end device is disclosed. The device comprises a plurality of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) transfer switches having a plurality of parallel switch inputs and parallel switch outputs. The device comprises a plurality of banks of a plurality of parallel signal conditioning devices and each bank comprising a plurality of parallel paths having an input side and an output side, at least two of the banks of the plurality of signal conditioning devices couple the input side to the plurality of parallel switch outputs of a preceding MEMS transfer switch and the output side to the plurality of parallel switch inputs of a succeeding MEMS transfer switch. The MEMS transfer switches are controlled to condition a wideband signal through a selected set of signal conditioning devices to improve selection sensitivity of at least one frequency in a wideband. A method and RF communications device are also disclosed.

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Clarksville, GA, United States of America

Lowell Kent Sherman