High power AlGaN/GaN Ku-band MMIC SPDT switch and design consideration

An AlGaN/GaN HEMT Ku-band MMIC single pole double throw (SPDT) switch has been fabricated and characterized. Due to the high breakdown voltage and the high electron mobility of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT, this switch has high power handling capability and low insertion loss. It does not require DC power consumption, unlike the PIN diode switch, and it has higher power handling than the GaAs FET switch. The reported SPDT switch has 1.4 dB insertion loss, 35 dB isolation, and 36 dBm input RF power at the 1 dB compression point (P_1dB) at 18 GHz. Additionally, design considerations that are unique to the AlGaN/GaN switch will be presented. We performed multiple design variations of a single pole single throw (SPST) switch and we report on the effect of these variations on the performance.