High-temperature distortion and power-handling properties of GaAs-, 4H-SiC-, GaN-MESFET´s switches

This paper discusses the properties of solid state switches using various technologies (GaAs-, 4H-SiC- and GaN-based MESFETs) and their suitability for microwave and RF control applications. The origins of the mechanisms dictating the values of insertion loss, isolation, power-handling capabilities, and distortion intercept points are discussed and the variations of these performances over a wide range of temperature are reviewed. The results show that the 4H-SiC and GaN-based switches demonstrated better than + 20 dBm power handling capabilities, lower distortions, and small degradation of their intercept points over a wide range of temperature (-50 to 300 degC)