High Speed X-Band Single Pole 4 Throw Switch

To meet the faster update demands of US Army AMCOM’s Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) MilliMeterWave (MMW) test facilities, the development of a high speed SP4T switch is required. Switching rates in excess of 60MHz will be required to successfully test future advanced armament for FCS. The program focus is on the development of a SP4T switch with fast switching speed (<3nsec), high isolation (65dB), interface logic, spurious response of less than 30dBc, operating between 9 and 11 GHz. During Phase I a survey was conducted to determine the optimal device technology to realize the custom SP4T switch. Experiments to characterize the most promising MMIC processes were conducted and small signal models developed. Preliminary simulations were carried out to assess the tradeoff between switching speed, insertion loss, spurious response and isolation. The preliminary SP4T switch performance goals for this program represent significant enhancements over our existing designs. The Phase II program will lead to the development of high performance MMIC Switches operating at X-Band. A family of multithrow switches and switch matrices, i.e. SP3Ts, SP6Ts, SP8Ts, 2 x 2s, etc could be based on the SPDT and SP4T, providing components for future high performance HWIL test facilities.