GaN Non-volatile RF Switch Based on Bipolar Charge Trapping for Reconfigurable RF FEMs

This work demonstrates Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based non-volatile RF switches on a mature p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN-on-Si heterojunction platform. The reconfigurable RF switch can be programmed to ON/OFF-state through efficient bipolar charge trapping at the dielectric/p-GaN interface with minimal write energy. Leveraging deep interface trap states within wide bandgap of GaN, the RF switch can maintain both states with no external bias, achieving zero static energy consumption. The device exhibits a wide threshold-voltage tuning range of 6.5 V and robust retention of insertion loss (IL) and isolation (ISO) for over 10,000 s. A 200-μm-wide and 5-μm-long device delivers 3.2 dB-IL and 15.6 dB-ISO at 5 GHz. In addition to large threshold-voltage tuning range, the three-terminal topology with isolated gate control mitigates RF-signal-induced state disturbance, enabling high power handling capabilities up to 30 dBm. This innovative solution, combining low energy consumption with high-power capabilities, offers a promising path for 5G/6G reconfigurable RF front-end modules.