High Power Ku-Band T/R and SP4T Switches in SOI CMOS

This paper presents silicon-on-insulation (SOI) CMOS T/R and SP4T switches with high-power handling capability. The CMOS transistors are stacked and their sources and drains are biased for the high-power handling capability. The TQ trench of 0.18-μm SOI CMOS process is properly placed to improve the substrate isolation between transistors. For the T/R switch, the measured insertion loss of Tx and Rx modes are <1.1 and<1.7 dB, respectively, in Ku-band (12–18 GHz). The measured isolation between Tx and Rx ports is>24 dB in the same frequency band. To author’s knowledge, this T/R switch shows the highest input 1-dB compression point of 34 dBm in Ku-band CMOS switches. The SP4T switch operates in DC-18 GHz, and the measured insertion loss and isolation are <2.4 and >19.5 dB, respectively, with the return loss of < –9.3 dB. This chip sizes are 0.11 mm² for the T/R switch and 0.12 mm² for the SP4T switch.