Arrays of GeTe Electrically Activated RF Switches
Résumé
We report the fabrication and the high-frequency
characterization of four-terminals GeTe -phase change material
RF switches. The device integrates an indirect heating system for
reversible changing the GeTe material’s state from crystalline to
amorphous. We show that the dimensions of the GeTe patterns
have to be optimized for obtaining high on-state resistances of a
single device and proper RF performances. For an electrical
activation of an initially crystalline GeTe pattern to its
amorphous state we used an electrical pulse with a 500 ns
duration and 60 mA intensity resulting in switches having 7fF
off-state capacitance. The reverse process (switch turned to the
ON state) requires an electrical pulse of 3 µs and 40 mA intensity,
resulting in an on-state resistance of 36Ω. We demonstrate that
arrays of similar 8-switches present very good performances,
with 0.8 dB of insertion loss and 25 dB of isolation at 5 GHz.