V- and W-band GaN MMIC Switches

This paper presents the design and measured continuous wave (CW) performance of several V- and W-band GaN MMIC HEMT switches in the HRL T340 nm T-gate process. Several shunt switch types are designed and characterized in small and large signal operation. A SPST switch achieves 0. 9-2.2dB of insertion loss from 60 to 100 GHz with 30 dB isolation. Two SPDT switches are compared: one with a single shunt HEMT achieving 1-1. 5dB of insertion loss from 65 to 105 GHz with 20 dB isolation, and the other with two shunt HEMTs showing 1. 7-6dB insertion loss from 60 to 105 GHz with 35 dB of isolation. A SP4T with double shunt HEMTs in each branch attains an insertion loss of 3.7-7.5 from 50-105 GHz with up to 40dB of isolation in one of two symmetrical branches. The switches are measured with incident power from 0 to 20dBm at 92 GHz with no signs of compression. Nonlinear simulations agree with measurements within the available testing power range, and indicate a 1-dB compression point above 40 dBm for the SPST.