An optically controlled microwave attenuator

A hybrid optoelectronic scheme, suitable for controlling microwave integrated circuits, has been demonstrated. By employing optoelectronic techniques, we have demonstrated up to 26 dB of rf attenuation using a linear one-dimensional (1 -D) AlGaAs laser diode array and a silicon photoconductive switch. Calculations indicate that this attenuation scheme can provide up to 40 dB of broad-bandwidth isolation, once optimized.