Zero-bias optically controlled RF switch in 0.13µm CMOS technologyts

José-Manuel Gonzales (1) , Nicolas Delhote (1) , Dominique Baillargeat (1) , Nathan Jess , Langis Roy , Steve Mc Garry

1 MINACOM

For the first time, we demonstrate an optically controlled passive RF switch realized in a common Si CMOS technology. Simulation results have been shown and a fabricated 230 μm × 240 μm chip has been measured. The newly developed switch is capable of working up to several GHz. Experimental results at 2 GHz show more than 20dB change in insertion loss between light and dark illumination states (varying from -30dB to -6.8dB). Application of a slight external DC bias reduces the ON state insertion loss to only 1.8 dB. Such bias could be easily produced in a future iteration by adding another photodiode to the circuit. This work opens a new frontier by combining commonly available IC technologies with optical control and high frequency devices.

José-Manuel Gonzales, Nicolas Delhote, Dominique Baillargeat, Nathan Jess, Langis Roy, et al.. Zero-bias optically controlled RF switch in 0.13µm CMOS technologyts. Microwave Photonics, 2011 International Topical Meeting on & Microwave Photonics Conference, 2011 Asia-Pacific, Oct 2011, Singapour, Singapore. pp.441-444, ⟨10.1109/MWP.2011.6088766⟩. ⟨hal-00684804⟩