Title :
The MESFET as an optically activated microwave switch-theory and experiment
Author :
Madjar, A. ; Paolella, A. ; Herczfeld, P.R.
Author_Institution :
Technion-Israel Inst. of Technol., Haifa, Israel
Abstract :
A novel model for the optical switching of the MESFET is presented. The model is based on basic principles, and predicts the optical switching performance as a function of the optical signal parameters, the bias level, and the device physics and geometry. The results and conclusions from the theory are verified by measurements. Both the theoretical and experimental results indicate that standard commercially available microwave MESFETs are not fast optical switches, and that their response time runs in the microsecond range. The proposed model can serve as a tool for designing an optimal MESFET for optical switching purposes.<>
Keywords :
Schottky gate field effect transistors; photoconducting devices; semiconductor device models; semiconductor switches; solid-state microwave devices; MESFET; bias level; device geometry; device physics; model; optical signal parameters; optical switching; optically activated microwave switch; response time; Delay; Geometrical optics; MESFETs; Microwave devices; Optical design; Optical devices; Optical switches; Physics; Predictive models; Solid modeling;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1993., IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Atlanta, GA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1209-0
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.1993.276736
