Design and Optimization of a High-Power Solid-State Plasma RF Switch

This article shows the highest power handling and fastest switching speed of any previously reported compact solid-state plasma (SSP) switch. These improvements are made possible by thoroughly investigating the design trade-offs, allowing essential performance metrics such as loss and isolation to be maintained. In doing so, two different designs are considered to investigate the trade-off between loss and switching speed up through the S-band, showing an order of magnitude faster switching speed at the cost of 0.15 dB loss. The modified conventional design exhibits less than 0.35 dB loss and 29.44 mu s switching speeds, whereas the novel design employing micromachining shows less than 0.50 dB loss and 3.50 mu s switching speeds, with a rise time of 400 ns. Both designs can handle at least 100 W of RF power without degradation in loss or isolation. Further, hot-switching in this technology is reported for the first time, surviving up to 30 W. Comprehensive design equations are presented and implemented in co-simulation, showing an almost-indistinguishable difference from measured data. The theory is expanded to include equations predicting switching speed, power handling, and equivalent plasma resistance.