A Fiber-Free DC-7 GHz 35 W Integrated Semiconductor Plasma Switch

Abstract

This paper presents the first wideband, fiber-free, integrated, planar semiconductor plasma switch demonstrated in the DC-7 GHz range. The proposed solution is based on a low-cost integrated microlens that reduces the system cost by at least 5x compared to state-of-the-art fiber-based solutions. In addition to the cost reduction, the presented switch exhibits the lowest reported loss (0.37 to <0.5 dB) among semiconductor plasma switch technologies and high power handling of at least 35 W. Additionally, the OFF -state isolation, where no light is illuminated, is 22 dB at 2 GHz. The presented solution has the potential to enable significant improvements in high-frequency, high-power, sub-microsecond beam steering applications and in other cases requiring such high-performance electronic switches.