MODELING THE OPTICAL SWITCHING OF MESFETS CONSIDERING THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECTS

One of the aspects of the merging of microwave and optical technologie s is the use of optical signals to switch electronic circuits in gener al and microwave circuits in particular (including MMIC). During the l ast decade, the feasibility of optical switching of MMIC's has been de monstrated. This paper presents a novel model for the optical switchin g of the MESFET, which is the building block of MMIC's. The model pred icts the optical switching performance as a function of the optical si gnal parameters, the bias level, and the device physics and geometry. The results and conclusions from the theory are verified by measuremen ts. The new model can serve as a design tool for designing an optimal MESFET for optical switching purposes.