Modeling the optical switching of MESFET´s considering the external and internal photovoltaic effects

Author

Madjar, Asher ; Paolella, Arthur ; Herczfeld, Peter R.

Author_Institution

Technion-Israel Inst. of Technol., Haifa, Israel

Volume

42

Issue

1

fYear

1994

fDate

1/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

62

Lastpage

67

Abstract

One of the aspects of the merging of microwave and optical technologies is the use of optical signals to switch electronic circuits in general and microwave circuits in particular (including MMIC). During the last decade, the feasibility of optical switching of MMIC´s has been demonstrated. This paper presents a novel model for the optical switching of the MESFET, which is the building block of MMIC´s. The model predicts the optical switching performance as a function of the optical signal parameters, the bias level, and the device physics and geometry. The results and conclusions from the theory are verified by measurements. The new model can serve as a design tool for designing an optimal MESFET for optical switching purposes

Keywords

MMIC; Schottky gate field effect transistors; equivalent circuits; photovoltaic effects; semiconductor device models; semiconductor switches; solid-state microwave devices; switching; GaAs; MESFET; MMIC; bias level; design tool; device geometry; device physics; external photovoltaic effects; internal photovoltaic effects; microwave circuits; model; optical signal parameters; optical switching; Electronic circuits; MESFETs; MMICs; Merging; Microwave circuits; Microwave technology; Optical design; Optical devices; Optical switches; Switching circuits;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9480

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/22.265529

Filename

265529