A high-performance 40-85 GHz MMIC SPDT switch using FET-integrated transmission line structure

A compact ultra-broadband distributed SPDT switch has been developed using GaAs PHEMTs. An FET-integrated transmission line structure, where the source pad of the shunt FET has been integrated into the signal line while the drain has been grounded to a via-hole with minimum parasitic inductance, has been proposed to extend the operating bandwidth of the distributed switches. SPDT and SPST switches using this structure have been fabricated using a commercial GaAs PHEMT foundry. The SPDT switch showed low insertion loss (<2 dB) and good isolation (>30 dB) over an octave bandwidth from 40 to 85 GHz. At 77 GHz, the SPDT switch showed extremely low insertion loss of 1.4 dB and high isolation of 38 dB. The chip size was as small as 1.45*1.0 mm/sup 2/. To the best of our knowledge, this is among the best performance ever reported for an octave-band SPDT switch at this frequency range. SPST switch also showed the excellent performance with the insertion loss of 0.4 dB and isolation of 34 dB at 60 GHz.