MMIC-compatible terminal protection device

A low-cost terminal protection device (TPD) employing only five components has been demonstrated that is compatible with monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and suitable for phased-array applications. Using a standard low-noise, depletion-mode MESFET (metal semiconductor field-effect transistor) across a 50-/spl Omega/ line, the TPD achieves a small-signal insertion loss less than 1 dB up to 3 GHz. With a single stage, the TPD attenuated 20-W pulses by 14 dB and 500-W pulses by 23 dB. Spike leakage was less than 0.1 /spl mu/J.