An Al(2)O(3) AlGaAs/InGaAs Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor PHEMT SPDT Switch with Low Control Currents for Wireless Communication Applications

Abstract

An AlGaAs/InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (MOS-PHEMT) single- pole-double-throw (SPDT) switch using Al(2)O(3) high-k gate dielectric by atomic layer deposition is fabricated. The MOS-PHEMT exhibited a comparable dc performance and a much lower gate current compared to PHEMT. Radio-frequency (rf) test shows that the MOS-PHEMT switch has an insertion loss of less than 0.5 dB, an isolation larger than 30 dB, a return loss larger than 15 dB, and an input power for 1 dB compression of 31.4 dBm at 2.5 GHz. Overall, MOS-PHEMT monolithic microwave integrated circuits switches have comparable rf performance to PHEMT switches but with much lower dc power consumption. (C) 2010 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3380967] All rights reserved.