A Pin Diode for mm-Wave Digital Modulation

The object of this paper is to show that a switch using PIN diodes is especially well suited for mm-wave high speed digital modulation. The PIN diodes to be described have a switching speed of less than 0.7 nsec and a power handling capability in excess of 200 mW. The quoted switching speed is realized with a transistorized driver consuming 0.8W. The switching quality factor Q of the PIN diodes is approximately 40 at 55 GHz-including the loss in the diode mount.