Design and packaging approach for MMIC insertion in a broadband 4*4 microwave switch matrix

The design and packaging approach, as well as performance results, for a lightweight broadband (3.5- to 6.5-GHz) 4*4 microwave switch matrix (MSM) for C-band uplink and/or downlink onboard communications satellite applications are presented. A GaAs monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) dual-gate field-effect transistor (FET) switch element with chip dimensions of 1.5 mm*2.5 mm forms a key building block of this miniaturized crossbar MSM. Over the 3.5- to 6.5-GHz frequency range, on-to-off isolation for all 16 paths is measured to be greater than 50 dB. The MSM insertion loss and path-to-path insertion loss variations, are less than 6.25 dB and 1 dB, respectively.<>