FET switches have inherently low video leakage

Low video leakage, high isolation and an industry-leading settling time make solid-state switches especially well suited for semiconductor manufacturing system test and R and D.

Agilent Technologies has introduced two FET single-pole double-throw (SPDT) solid-state switches for switching RF signals up to 18GHz.

Low video leakage, high isolation and an industry-leading settling time make these switches especially well suited for semiconductor manufacturing system test and R and D engineers, and enable the high-performance broadband switching required to validate RFIC component performance.

The Agilent U9397A and U9397C FET switches operate from 300kHz to 8GHz and 300kHz to 18GHz, respectively.

In contrast to a conventional PIN switch, which has a typical video leakage of 1000mV peak-peak, Agilent's new FET switches have inherently low video leakage of less than 10mV peak-peak.

Although not a widely considered parameter, video leakage can cause significant damage to sensitive components and devices under test.

Agilent's FET switches are crucial for enabling not only accurate but also safe broadband testing of components and devices such as mixers and amplifiers.

The new FET switches also incorporate a patented design that results in an industry-leading settling time of less than 350us measured to 0.01dB.

The fast settling time improves throughput in high-speed RFIC manufacturing test.

Another key characteristic of these new switches is exceptionally high port-to-port isolation, specified at greater than 90dB.

Such isolation minimises crosstalk between signal paths to ensure accurate testing and better yield.

"Agilent's FET solid-state switches employ an innovative design that combines high-speed capability with broadband performance and low video leakage", said Agilent's Ee Keong Ban, General Manager of the Electronic Measurement Group's Test Accessory Operation.

"The industry-leading performance and flexibility of our new switches allows today's manufacturing and R and D engineers to effectively address the challenges of measurement accuracy, throughput and yield".

The Agilent U9397A and U9397C FET solid-state switches will be available this month.

Pricing is US $800 for the U9397A switch and $1070 for the U9397C switch.

The switches can be purchased through any of Agilent's field engineers and worldwide distributors, or via Agilent's online store.

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