Indirect optical control of microwave circuits using monolithic optically variable capacitors

Author

Nafra, A.S. ; Jerphagnon, Olivier ; Chavarkar, Prashant ; VanBlaricum, Michael ; York, Robert A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., California Univ., Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Volume

47

Issue

7

fYear

1999

fDate

7/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1365

Lastpage

1372

Abstract

In this paper, we present an integrated circuit technology suitable for low-power bias-free optical control of microwave circuits and antennas. We have integrated miniature photovoltaic arrays with varactor diodes and thin-film resistors to form monolithic optically variable capacitors (OVCs). For the monolithic OVC described here, only 1.5 mW of optical power was required for more than 2:1 change in capacitance (0.9-0.4 pF). Optically controlled microwave circuits such as X-band analog phase shifters and tunable notch filters, which incorporated the monolithic OVC as the control element, were fabricated to demonstrate the potential of this technology

Keywords

microwave antennas; microwave circuits; microwave filters; microwave phase shifters; notch filters; optical control; photodetectors; varactors; 0.4 to 0.9 pF; 1.5 mW; X-band analog phase shifters; bias-free optical control; indirect optical control; microwave antennas; microwave circuits; monolithic optically variable capacitors; photovoltaic arrays; thin-film resistors; tunable notch filters; varactor diodes; Integrated circuit technology; Microwave antennas; Microwave circuits; Optical arrays; Optical control; Optical filters; Optical variables control; Photovoltaic systems; Solar power generation; Varactors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9480

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/22.775480

Filename

775480