PIN Diode and Circuit Performance for 15,000 High Power L-Band Phase Shifters

A packageless PIN diode for an L-band phase shifter was designed with 1000 volt minimum measured breakdown at 10 microamperes (and estimated bulk breakdown of 1800 volts), 3 pf capacitance and 0.2 ohms. The calculated diode RF voltage stress is up to 750 volts rms in the 180° bit. Over 24,000 (180° bit) diodes have been tested to this stress level so far. A total of 90,000 diodes were made for the 3-bit phase shifters, which operate from 1175-1375 MHz with rms phase error less than 13° rms and average loss below 1 dB. Except for insertion phase trimming, no production tuning of the circuits was performed in the achievement of this performance. Along with the diode and circuit details, statistical data and commentary regarding the interesting aspects of this unusually large project will be presented.