GaAs HBT PIN diode attenuators and switches

Abstract
Reports on an AlGaAs/GaAs HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) two-stage PIN diode and a one-open two-throw X-band PIN diode switch. The two-stage PIN attenuator has a greater than 50 dB dynamic range at 2 GHz and a maximum IP3 of 9 dBm. The minimum insertion loss is 1.7 dB per stage and there is a flat response of 10 GHz. The X-band switch has an insertion loss of 0.82 dB and an off-isolation of 25 dB. The bandwidth is greater than 35% and the IP3 is greater than 34.5 dBm. Both of these circuits consist of PIN diodes constructed from the base-collector MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) layers oo he baseline HBT process. This work demonstrates the monolithic integration of PIN diode switch and attenuation functions in an HBT technology without additional process of MBE material growth.

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