A High Isolation DC to 18 GHz Packaged MMIC SPDT Switch

An high isolation MMIC GaAs SPDT switch was designed using a travelling wave configuration to achieve a very broadband performance from DC to 18 GHz. The SPDT switch die measurements give less than 2.5 dB insertion loss at 18 GHz and a return loss greater than 12 dB over the full bandwidth in both the ON and OFF states. The MMIC chip was packaged in a new 20 GHz package. The packaged switch has insertion loss of better than 3.1 dB an isolation higher than 34 dB at 18 GHz and a good match from DC to 18 GHz. The switch can handle an input power of 0.6 Watt from 1 GHz to 18 GHz.