New High Speed Switch Offers Sub-50ns Switching Times

An ideal CMOS analog switch would exhibit such characteristics as zero resistance when turned on, infinite resistance when turned off, zero power consumption, and zero switching time. Unfortunately, such a device is usually found as an example in a college textbook. The real world offers trade-offs and imperfections which prevent the realization of the ideal. The integrated circuit designer works within these limits and attempts to optimize device performance by utilizing new technologies and improving circuit design. The development of a new high speed analog switch required the use of both of these techniques to achieve its performance. (See Appendix I: “Inside the HI-201HS”).