The Design of Integrated Switches and Phase Shifters

Integrated analog switches can easily be designed using any Field Effect Transistor (FET) based process. The challenges in switch design tend to come in extending the upper operating frequency and/or increasing the power handling capability. The first part of this paper describes the operation of FETs as switches and presents design techniques for realising integrated RF and microwave switches. Consideration is also given to techniques for improving the power handling capability of switch designs.

Phase shifting circuits allow control of the insertion phase of a network. They find applications in electronic beam-forming, channel matching networks and measurement systems. The second part of this paper details phase shifting techniques suitable for integrated realisations. Analogue and digitally controlled techniques are included and examples of phase shifter designs are presented.