Thomson Composants Microondes

Michele Le Paih

Christian Guiberteau

Stephane Ruggeri

Disclosed is a sample-and-hold unit more especially designed to work at microwave frequencies (&gt;1 GHz). In order to increase the sampling frequency, the disclosed circuit has at least two identical parallel channels. Each channel has a first follower switch (9) a capacitor (11) and a second holding switch (15). The channels are controlled by a single clock, the complementary or phase-shifted signals (H, H) of which address the samples sequentially towards the output (8). The disclosed device can be applied to the processing of analog signals.

Sample-and-hold unit with high sampling frequency

Disclosed is a microwave (1 GHZ) sample-and-hold unit having a field-effect transistor, to which an input signal is applied, and a storage capacitor. The transistor is made of materials of the III-V group, such as GaAs or InP, and Its channel region is controlled by an optical control device formed by an optic fiber and a pulsed laser semiconductor. In order to reduce the switching time of the transistor, this transistor and the laser are both biased at points close to their thresholds. The disclosed device can be applied in signal processing, at frequencies of the order of 1 GHz.

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Bievres, France

Michele Le Paih