Energy-Efficient Indirectly Heated Phase Change RF Switch

Linear radio-frequency (RF) switches are highly desired in wireless system front ends. Here, we report electro-thermal measurements and modeling of an indirectly heated phase change RF switch (IPCS). We study the energy-efficiency of the IPCS device by electro-thermal modeling and show that its layer design is crucial to reduce its switching power. Thermally optimized SbTe-based IPCS devices switch at a record-low power of ~8 mW/μm
²
, approaching the efficiency limit of such indirectly heated devices.