10.6 THz figure-of-merit phase-change RF switches with embedded micro-heater

We report on GeTe-based phase-change RF switches with embedded micro-heater for thermal switching. With heater parasitics reduced, GeTe RF switches show onstate resistance of 0.05 ohm*mm and off-state capacitance of 0.3 pF/mm. The RF switch figure-of-merit is estimated to be 10.6 THz, which is about 15 times better than state-of-the-art silicon-on-insulator switches. With on-state resistance of 1 ohm and off-state capacitance of 15 fF, RF insertion loss was measured at 25 dB at 20 GHz, respectively. RF power handling was >5.6 W for both onand off-state of GeTe.