Voltage controlled superconducting microwave switch and method of operation thereof
US5841342A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 13, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 24, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 13, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01P1/10
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A low insertion loss, wide bandwidth, microwave switch has a superconducting transmission line that can reversibly go from a superconducting state to a normal state by the application of a DC voltage. When in the normal state, the switch is "off" and microwave signals are attenuated. To reduce the voltage necessary to cause switching, the width of the transmission line is decreased. This decrease in voltage is accomplished in a controlled manner so that there are no spurious reflections produced on the line, resulting in a wide operating bandwidth. Previous microwave switches use other means to switch between superconducting and normal and suffer from disadvantages such as relatively slow switching time, complexity or narrow bandwidths as a result.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.