Inventors:
Paul D. Cooper - Baldwinsville NY
Paul A. Bourdelais - Liverpool NY
Anthony W. Jacomb-Hood - North Syracuse NY
John A. Windyka - Liverpool NY
David R. Helms - Liverpool NY
Ronald J. Naster - Liverpool NY
Assignee:
General Electric Company - Syracuse NY
International Classification:
H03H 1124
Abstract:
An electronically reconfigurable digital pad attenuator is disclosed using selectively controlled segmented field effect transistors in a passive, non-gain state as the principal impedance elements. The attenuator may be fabricated in the monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) format with a segmented gate field effect transistor being connected in each of the separate branches of a Pi pad, Tee pad, or Bridged Tee pad attenuator configuration. The individual FET segments are maintained in a high admittance "ON" state or a low admittance "OFF" state in accordance with the binary control potentials applied to the gate of each segment, the principal electrodes being maintained at a zero potential difference. The attenuation then becomes a function of the binary gate potentials applied to each segment and assumes one of a set of well-defined discrete values. The attenuator consumes minimum power, provides attenuation steps that are independent of GaAs MMIC fabrication process tolerances, i. e.