rf-microwave switches based on reversible semiconductor-metal transition of VO2 thin films synthesized by pulsed-laser deposition

Microwave switching devices based on the semiconductor-metal transition of VO2 thin films were developped on two types of substrates (C-plane sapphire and SiO2/Si), and in both shunt and series configurations. Under thermal activation, the switches achieved up to 30-40 dB average isolation of the radio-frequency (rf) signal on 500 MHz-35 GHz frequency band with weak insertion losses. These VO2-based switches can be electrically activated with commutation times less than 100 ns, which make them promising candidates for realizing efficient and simple rf switches. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.