Multithrow heterojunction PIN diode switches

Author

Brogle, James J. ; Curcio, Daniel G. ; Hoag, David R. ; Boles, Timothy E.

Author_Institution

MA-COM Technol. Solutions, Lowell, MA, USA

fYear

2009

fDate

28-29 Sept. 2009

Firstpage

9

Lastpage

12

Abstract

The novel use of an AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction to form a PIN diode, with reduced RF resistance (R_S) and no change in junction capacitance (C_T), has been analyzed and employed in the development of several different PIN diode switches of various circuit topologies. Series designs demonstrate improved insertion loss, shunt designs improved isolation, and series-shunt designs improvements in both parameters. These switches demonstrate superior broadband performance, with low insertion loss and high isolation from 50 MHz to almost 80 GHz, and series-shunt switches exhibit 50% increased input power capability over equivalent homojunction GaAs PIN diode switches.

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; capacitance measurement; gallium arsenide; isolation technology; microwave switches; network topology; p-i-n diodes; semiconductor heterojunctions; AlGaAs-GaAs; PIN diode switches; RF resistance; circuit topology; frequency 50 MHz; isolation; junction capacitance; multithrow heterojunction; series-shunt designs; superior broadband performance; Anodes; Capacitance; Gallium arsenide; Heterojunctions; Insertion loss; Photonic band gap; Radio frequency; Semiconductor diodes; Switches; Topology;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference, 2009. EuMIC 2009. European

Conference_Location

Rome

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4749-7

Type

conf

Filename

5296413