Small- and Large-Signal Performance of III-Nitride RF Switches With Hybrid Fast/Slow Gate Design

We report on the small-signal and power performance of AlGaN/GaN RF switches with novel gate design incorporating regular metal gate deposited over a “slow” gate electrode formed by a low-conducting InGaN film. SPDT RF switch MMICs using hybrid “fast/slow” gate AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs show superior transmission characteristics while maintaining the same high-power and high-linearity performance as the switches based on conventional MOSHFETs.