Design and Development of L-Band Pin Diode SPDT Switches

Abstract

SPDT switches which are used in IFF equipment should have low insertion loss, high isolation, low VSWR, low switching time and high power handling capacity. PIN diodes are usually used in SPDT switches. This paper gives guidelines for selecting PIN diode for SPDT switches. Stripline SPDT switches for which diodes are selected following the guideline given in this paper are designed, developed and fabricated. The experimental results obtained are insertion loss: 0 6 dB (max.), isolation 25 dB (min.), VSWR 1–42 (max.) and switching time (forward-bias-to-reverse bias) 200 ns in the frequency range of 102 GHz to 110 GHz. The switches can handle 1 kW peak power in the temperature range of—40°C to +55°C.

Indexing terms:

• SPDT Switches
• PIN Switches
• Switches
• Microwave Switches