Low-loss high power RF switching using multifinger AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs

We demonstrate a novel RF switch based on a multifinger AlGaN/GaN MOSHFET. Record high saturation current and breakdown voltage, extremely low gate leakage current and low gate capacitance of the III-N MOSHFETs make them excellent active elements for RF switching. Using a single element test circuit with 1-mm wide multifinger MOSHFET we achieved 0.27 dB insertion loss and more than 40 dB isolation. These parameters can be further improved by impedance matching and by using submicron gate devices. The maximum switching power extrapolated from the results for 1A/mm 100 /spl mu/m wide device exceeds 40 W for a 1-mm wide 2-A/mm MOSHFET.     

High-power operation of III-N MOSHFET RF switches

We describe a large-signal performance of novel high-power radio frequency (RF) switches based on III-nitride insulated gate metal-oxide semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs). The maximum switching powers for a single MOSHFET with only 1-mm gate width exceed 50W at 10GHz, more than an order of magnitude higher than those achievable using GaAs transistors. In the ON state, the highest powers are determined by the device peak drain currents, 1-2A/mm for the state-of-the art III-N MOSHFETs; in the OFF state their maximum powers are limited by the breakdown voltage, normally well above 100V. Our experimental data are in close agreement with large-signal simulations and the proposed simple analytical model. We also show that the insulating gate design allows for broader bandwidth and higher switching powers and better stability as compared to conventional Schottky gate transistors.     

The package integration of RF-MEMS switch and control IC for wireless applications

The integration of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switch and control integrated circuit (IC) in a single package was developed for use in next-generation portable wireless systems. This packaged radio-frequency (RF) MEMS switch exhibits an insertion loss under -0.4 dB, and isolation greater than -45 dB. This MEMS switch technology has significantly better RF characteristics than conventional PIN diodes or field effect transistor (FET) switches and consumes less power. The RF MEMS switch chip has been integrated with a high voltage charge pump plus control logic chips into a single package to accommodate the low voltage requirements in portable wireless applications. This paper discusses the package assembly process and critical parameters for integration of MEMS devices and bi-complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) control integrated circuit (IC) into a single package.     

Low-voltage high-isolation DC-to-RF MEMS switch based on an S-shaped film actuator

This paper presents a new electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical series switch for switching dc to radio frequency (RF) signals. The device is based on a flexible S-shaped film moving between a top and a bottom electrode in touch-mode actuation. This concept, in contrast to most other microelectrochemical systems (MEMS) switches, allows a design with a low actuation voltage independent of the off-state gap height. This makes larger nominal switching contact areas for lower insertion loss possible, by obtaining high isolation in the off-state. The actuation voltages of the first prototype switches are 12 V to open, and 15.8 V to close the metal contact. The RF isolation with a gap distance of 14.2 /spl mu/m is better than -45 dB up to 2 GHz and -30 dB at 15 GHz despite a large nominal switching contact area of 3500 /spl mu/m/sup 2/.     

A wide-band T/R switch using enhanced compact Waffle MOSFETs

A wide-band complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)transmit/receive (T/R) switch using enhanced compact waffle metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is presented. The compact waffle layout configuration saves much active area to give a low on-resistance. Furthermore,the low drain-to-substrate capacitance (CDB) in waffle MOSFETs can help reduce high frequency substrate coupling and substrate loss for CMOS radio frequency (RF)/microwave integrated circuits (ICs). A 2-dB higher maximum stable gain/maximum available gain (MSG/MAG)and a 2-GHz higher f/sub max/ are obtained compared with those of conventional multifinger MOSFETs. The CMOST/R switch implemented in a standard 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology gives a low insertion loss of 1.7dB,high isolation of more than 40dB, larger than 15-dB return loss, 7-dBm P/sub 1 dB/ and 13-dBm input IP3 at 900MHz with a 3-V supply voltage. The switch maintains a wide-band performance up to 2.4GHz with only a slight deterioration.     

Single-pole-double-throw switch based on toggle switch

A single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) switch based on the toggle switch, a new type of radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical (MEMS) switch structure for low voltage actuation, high broadband application and enhanced power capability, is presented. Electromagnetic simulation results are discussed and the fabrication process and measurement results are given. The SPDT switch exhibits low insertion loss (<0.5 dB at 20 GHz) and high isolation (>28 dB at 30 GHz).     

RF MEMS开关工艺技术研究

RFMEMS开关是用MEMS技术形成的新型电路元件,与传统的半导体开关器件相比具有插入损耗低、隔离度大等优点,将对现有雷达和通信中RF结构产生重大影响。文章介绍了RFMEMS开关的基本工艺流程设计,工艺制作技术的研究。实验解决了种子层技术、聚酰亚胺牺牲层技术、微电镀技术的工艺难题,制作出了RFMEMS开关样品,基本掌握了RFMEMS器件的制作工艺技术。RFMEMS开关样品测试的技术指标为:膜桥高度2μm～3μm、驱动电压<30V、频率范围0～40GHz、插入损耗≤1dB、隔离度≥20dB,样品参数性能达到了设计要求。     

一种基于MMIC技术的S波段GaAs单刀单掷开关

射频开关作为一个系统的重要组成部分其性能直接影响整个系统的指标和功能。其中插入损耗和隔离度以及开关速度是射频开关最重要的几个指标。在实际测试中,S波段脉冲信号源需要产生快前沿的窄脉冲信号。在此基于上述需求,利用了射频开关模块设计的基本原理,并结合了PCB上微带线的特性阻抗分析,且设计了合适的开关驱动电路,最终设计出一种高隔离度,低插入损耗,高速射频开关,开关控制电压为（0,-5V）。在频率2～4GHz的条件下,插入损耗小于1．7dB,隔离度大于48dB,结果满足设计要求。     

Piezoelectrically actuated RF MEMS DC contact switches with low voltage operation

In this paper, fully integrated radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches with piezoelectric actuation have been proposed, designed, fabricated, and characterized. At a very low operation voltage of 2.5V, reliable and reproducible operation of the fabricated switch was obtained. The proposed RF MEMS switch is comprised of a piezoelectric cantilever actuator with a floated contact electrode and isolated CPW transmission line suspended above the silicon substrate. The measured insertion loss and isolation of the fabricated piezoelectric switch are -0.22 dB and -42dB at a frequency of 2GHz, respectively.     

A GaAs high power RF single-pole dual throw switch IC fordigital-mobile communication system

A high power GaAs monolithic RF switch IC that can handle powers over 5 W (P1 dB: 37 dBm) with a positive 5-V control voltage was developed. This high power handling capability was achieved by using a novel circuit configuration that makes possible the feeding forward of the input-signal to the control gates. The implemented Single Pole Dual Throw switch IC integrated with the coupling capacitors using a high dielectric material, Barium Strontium Titanate, shows an insertion loss less than 0.8 dB at 1 GHz and an isolation over 25 dB in a frequency range of 0.5-1.5 GHz     

Microwave power double-heterojunction HEMT's

The RF and dc characteristics of microwave power double-heterojunction HEMt's (DH-HEMT's) with low doping density have been studied. Small-signal RF measurements indicated that the cutoff frequency and the maximum frequency of oscillation in DH-HEMT's with 0.8-1 µm gate length and 1.2 mm gate periphery are typically 11- 16 GHz and 36-41 GHz, respectively. However, the cutoff frequency in DH-HEMT's degrades strongly with increasing drain bias voltage. This may be caused by both effects of increasing effective transit length of electrons and decreasing average electron velocity, due to Gunn domain formation. In large-signal microwave measurement, the DH-HEMT (2.4 mm gate periphery) delivered a maximum output power of 1.05 W with 2.8 dB gain and 0.58 W with 1.6 dB gain at 20 and 30 GHz, respectively. These are the highest output powers yet reported for HEMT devices. For the dc characteristics, the onset of two-terminal gate breakdown voltage is found to correlate with the drain current Idssand recessed length, and three-terminal source-drain breakdown characteristics near pinchoff are limited by the gate-drain breakdown. A simple model on gate breakdown voltage in HEMT is also presented.     

High-power RF switching using III-nitride metal-oxide-semiconductor heterojunction capacitors

We propose and demonstrate a novel III-Nitride high-power robust RF switch using SiO/sub 2/-AlGaN-GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterojunction (MOSH) capacitors. A metal electrode deposited on the top of the SiO/sub 2/ layer and the low-resistivity two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel at the AlGaN-GaN interface serve as the MOSH capacitor plates. Two "back-to-back" connected MOSH capacitors form a double MOSH (D-MOSH) RF switch thereby eliminating the need for ohmic contacts and also allowing fully self-aligned fabrication. The D-MOSH switch has a symmetrical /spl pi/-type capacitance-voltage characteristic with a static ON-OFF capacitance ratio greater than 20:1. The RF switch exhibits similar polarity independent sharp /spl pi/-type transmission bias curve. At 2GHz, a single-element multifinger D-MOSH switch shows isolation greater than 25 dB and insertion loss of 0.7 dB. The switching power exceeds 60 W/mm making the novel D-MOSH switch robust device for high-power high-temperature integrated electronics.     

A 0.13 μm CMOS UWB RF Transmitter with an On‐Chip T/R Switch

This paper presents a fully integrated 0.13 μm CMOS MB‐OFDM UWB transmitter chain (mode 1). The proposed transmitter consists of a low‐pass filter, a variable gain amplifier, a voltage‐to‐current converter, an I/Q up‐mixer, a differential‐to‐single‐ended converter, a driver amplifier, and a transmit/receive (T/R) switch. The proposed T/R switch shows an insertion loss of less than 1.5 dB and a Tx/Rx port isolation of more than 27 dB over a 3 GHz to 5 GHz frequency range. All RF/analog circuits have been designed to achieve high linearity and wide bandwidth. The proposed transmitter is implemented using IBM 0.13 μm CMOS technology. The fabricated transmitter shows a ?3 dB bandwidth of 550 MHz at each sub‐band center frequency with gain flatness less than 1.5 dB. It also shows a power gain of 0.5 dB, a maximum output power level of 0 dBm, and output IP3 of +9.3 dBm. It consumes a total of 54 mA from a 1.5 V supply.     

A Solid-State Electronic Switch for Auditory Research

A solid-state electronic switch is described. It is capable of switching audio signals (20 c/s to 100 kc) and producing rectangular, trapezoidal, or Gaussian envelopes. A fast switching circuit is used in conjunction with a Hall Multiplier. An external gate voltage controls the duration of the output envelope. The on-off ratio is 80 dB up to 50 kc. The switching transients are 60 dB below the output signal.     

A high-speed 4×4 Ti:LiNbO3 integrated optic switchat 1.5 μm

The operation of a fully packaged and pigtailed polarization dependent Ti:LiNbO₃ 4×4 integrated optic switch with an operating wavelength of 1.5 μm is demonstrated. The switching matrix is fast, with a measured 3-dB small-signal bandwidth greater than 1 GHz. Unwanted cross modulation between channels due to coupling between switching elements was measured and found to be less than -20 dB of the signal strength. The switch is composed of balanced bridge switching elements having a 17-V switching voltage, an 18 dB extinction ratio, and an excess optical loss of 0.6 dB     

Photo-injection p-i-n diode switch for high-power RF switching

The high RF power-switching properties of the photo-injection p-i-n switch (PIPINS), an optically controlled RF switch, are investigated. Proper functioning of a PIPINS as a low insertion-loss RF switch requires that it operates as a photoconductor, where the photo-injected charge is much greater than the RF sweep out charge. Insertion loss using 650-mW optical power was <0.4 dB at RF (VHF-UHF) power in excess of 200 W, and devices successfully standoff 200-W incident RF power with the series isolation being determined by the device capacitance (e.g., 225 fF). PIPINS hot-switching measurements are reported for the first time, with output RF power up to 180 W at low duty cycle, rise times of 1 ps, and fall times for a series shunt switch of ≈2.5 μs. The RF power for hot switching a PIPINS is limited by a latch-on effect, which is dependent on a variety of parameters, including duty cycle and repetition period, consistent with thermally generated carriers contributing to the latch-on effect. The switching properties of PIPINS make them a candidate for high RF power applications such as reconfigurable antennas, where electromagnetic isolation of the switch and control lines are critical     

Design and performance analysis of double-gate MOSFET over single-gate MOSFET for RF switch

In this paper, we have designed a double-gate MOSFET and compared its performance parameters with the single-gate MOSFET as RF CMOS switch, particularly the double-pole four-throw (DP4T) switch, for the wireless telecommunication systems. A double-gate radio-frequency complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (DG RF CMOS) switch operating at the frequency of microwave range is investigated. This RF switch is capable to select the data streams from antennas for both the transmitting and receiving processes. We emphasize on the basics of the circuit elements (such as drain current, threshold voltage, resonant frequency, resistances at switch ON condition, capacitances, and switching speed) required for the integrated circuit of the radio frequency sub-system of the DG RF CMOS switch and the role of these basic circuit elements are also discussed. These properties presented in the switches due to the double-gate MOSFET and single-gate MOSFET have been discussed.     

A New Approach of Lateral RF MEMS Switch

This paper presents a novel lateral series microwave switch fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with a finite ground coplanar waveguide (FGCPW) configuration which is laterally actuated by the electrostatic force. The switch is built with a cantilever beam in the direction of the signal line and a fixed electrode is located opposite the cantilever beam. The mechanical structures are fabricated using SOI deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and shadow mask technology. The fabricated lateral RF MEMS switch has an isolation of 16 dB at 20 GHz. The insertion loss of the switch is 1 dB and return loss is 15 dB at 20 GHz. The threshold voltage is 19.2 V and switching time is 30 s.     

High-speed, 100+W RF switches using GaAs MMICs

A low-loss, inductive gate bias network structure which allows a very high stacking level of FET devices for high-power RF switching applications is reported. The design, implementation, and performance of S- and C-band SPDT switches based on this structure are described. Multiple GaAs MMIC chips integrated into a suspended-substrate hybrid circuit are used. At S-band, switch risetimes/falltimes of less than 40 ns and an RF power handling capability of 300 W CW have been demonstrated. This input signal level could be maintained during the switch state transitions (hot-switching), while being switched between the two output ports at rates of up to 500 kHz     

一种L～E波段的混合型射频MEMS单刀双掷开关设计

针对传统RF MEMS单刀双掷(SPDT)开关应用存在频段低、插入损耗高、隔离度低等问题,设计了一种混合型SPDT开关,通过在一条通路上设置接触式开关和电容式开关,实现了在L～E频段下的低插入损耗和高隔离度。通过设计蛇形上电极结构,降低了上电极的弹性系数,进而降低开关上电极下拉所需的驱动电压。采用HFSS仿真软件对混合型SPDT开关的射频性能参数进行了优化,并利用COMSOL对开关的蛇形上电极进行应力-位移分析。仿真结果表明,在DC～90 GHz的频段下,SPDT开关的插入损耗小于1.5 dB@90 GHz,隔离度大于52 dB@67 GHz、29 dB@90 GHz。此开关适用于无线通信系统、雷达系统和仪器测量系统等对工作频段要求高的领域内。