A Guide To RF Switching Systems

By Sara Nazemzadeh, Dow-Key Microwave Corp.

How do you design and develop a broadband complex RF switching system, or matrix, for your application that achieves great performance across the band? How do you select the best and most cost-effective RF matrix that meets your system requirements?

Whether your application is a ground system, test equipment, or a communication system, RF matrix design always begins with building blocks — discrete components such as switches, amplifiers or attenuators, power dividers, and couplers. As these building blocks are assembled, there are tradeoffs between switching speed and power handling, frequency and signal conditioning, and frequency and RF performance. In order to understand the challenges in a matrix design, it is important to understand the critical building blocks, as well as the important decisions that must be made along the way.

This article will explain the requirements placed on switching systems and the tradeoffs that different choices will present.