SBIR-STTR Award

Q-DOT proposes to develop an Active RF Switch Array for the Army’s hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) missile seeker test system. The switch array is designed to route 10 GHz X-band signals at low levels of approximately 0 dBm. IBM’s SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology is used to create ultra-fast active RF switches capable of switching times of 200 ps or less. This integrated circuit technology may also be capable of integrating other functions such as gain and signal combining in order to produce a complete 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 switch matrix on a chip. The active switch approach has the potential to provide ultra-fast switching with constant port impedances while reducing the size and component count of the switch matrix. Under Phase I, Q-DOT will perform an architecture study and circuit approach evaluation to determine the feasibility of the switch array and the more complex switch matrix. A prototype switch array will be built and tested in Phase II.

Benefits:
A successfully developed high speed RF switch array has potential benefit in military radar and communication systems and hardware-in-the-loop test facilities. Commercial markets that can potentially benefit from this technology include test instrumentation, waveform generation and commercial communications. Advancements in high-speed signal switches may have significant application in the signal source test instrument market. A high-speed cross-bar switch would also have application in data communications.

Keywords:
RF switch, high-speed RF switch, RF switch array, RF switch matrix, high-speed switch matrix, RF combiner, HWIL, SiGe

Q-DOT proposes to develop an Active Microwave Switch Matrix for the Army's hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) missile seeker test system. The 4 x 4 X-band switch matrix routes and combines signals at low levels of approximately 0 dBm, enabling each of the outputs to be rapidly programmed as an arbitrary combination of the inputs. IBM's SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology is used to create ultra-fast active switches capable of switching times of less than 50 ps. Gain, switching, combining and control functions are integrated to produce a complete switch matrix on a chip. The active switch provides ultra-fast switching with constant port impedances while reducing the size and component count of the switch matrix. Preliminary switch core circuit design simulations show that the switch core offers very fast switching time of the order of 30 ps. This short transition time substantially limits the spurious energy due to switching, resulting in exceptional switching spurious product rejection of -56 dBc. The Phase I Study indicates that this technology offers substantial performance improvements relative to existing passive switch approaches. In Phase II, the design of the integrated switch matrix chip will be performed. In Phase II Plus, the switch matrix prototypes will be fabricated and tested.

Keywords:
Rf Switch, Microwave Switch, X-Band Switch, High-Speed Rf Switch, Rf Switch Array, Rf Switch Matrix, Switch/Combiner, Hwil