Photoactivated Switches and Applications
Abstract
Photoactivated or optoelectronic switches whose resistance is controlled by light are being developed by DARPA at NOSC for sampling and control of electrical signals. The benefits offered include high speed, signal- control isolation, and compatibility with RF/microwave transmission lines. Furthermore the use of optical fibers to transmit light to the switches, yields complete switch isolation, absence of pickup, excellent timing control, and low jitter. Several application areas are being studied and developed including ultra high speed (50 ps) sampling of digital signals for time division multiplexing 1, sampling of a microwave signal for coherent radar, and reconfiguring of RF/microwave antenna elements. We review the simple model of photoconductor design, including trade-offs between switch resistance and capacitance for radar and antenna applications and present some preliminary experimental data on silicon switches.... Optoelectric switches, Computer interconnections, Optical amplifiers, Multiplexing, Optical switches, VHSIC/ MOSIAC.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA265739
Entities
People
- C. T. Chang
- D. J. Albares
- G. A. Garcia
- G. P. Imthurn
Organizations
- Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center