PHOTOVOLTAIC-FET FOR OPTOELECTRONIC RF MU-WAVE SWITCHING/

A photovoltaic-FET (PV-PET) is demonstrated for RF/mu wave switching w ith performance improved over other optoelectronic switches reported w hile operating with 10-100 times less optical power, The PV-FET charac teristics were 3 Omega on-resistance, > 30 M Omega off-resistance unde r <1 mW optical power, and 300 fF switch capacitance, This PV-FET was inductor tuned at 790 MHz and 7.4 GHz to enhance isolation, intended f or reconfigurable antenna applications, The measured insertion loss an d isolation agree well with those from theoretical calculation and num erical circuit simulation based on the switch parameters, The measured switch rise and fall times were 20 mu s and 2 mu s, respectively, Con trolled by light via optical fiber, the PV-FET can be used for remote RF/mu wave switching control with no electrical bias, complete electro magnetic, and good thermal isolation.