A fast low-power 4/spl times/4 switch IC using InP HEMTs for 10-Gbit/s systems

Abstract

A 4/spl times/4 switch IC using cold-FETs connected in series can be used as a single-ended 4/spl times/4 switch, an add drop multiplexer, or a differential 2/spl times/2 switch. An InP HEMT with a low Ron/spl middot/Coff product enables us to configure a dc-to-over-10-GHz switch without using a shunt FET, which offers a logic-level-independent interface. A packaged IC achieves error-free operation up to 12.5 Gbit/s with either negative (VH = 0 V, VL = -0.9 V) or positive (VH = +13 V, VL = +0.7 V) logic-level input for all 16 possible states. The power consumption is less than 5 mW. The add drop multiplexing operation with an ultra-fast switching of /spl sim/160 ps is also successfully demonstrated.