This paper presents a highly efficient multi-band power amplifier (PA) with a novel reconfigurable configuration. It consists of band-switchable matching networks (BS-MNs) and a biasing network (BS-BN) that are available for multi-band operation. BS-MNs with a susceptance block (SB) require a shorter transmission line (TL) than those without the SB at some target impedances. This paper theoretically derives the relationships of the required TL lengths for the BS-MN with or without the SB and the target impedances. The required TL lengths at the target impedances are evaluated numerically in order to discuss the advantages of the proposed configuration. The BS-BN employing switches for band switching can supply DC power to an amplification device without additional DC power dissipation because the DC bias current does not flow through the switches. Numerical analyses confirm that a BS-BN can be configured with low loss in multiple bands. Based on the proposed configuration, a 1/1.5/1.9/2.5-GHz quad-band reconfigurable PA is designed and fabricated employing RF microelectro mechanical systems switches and partitioned low temperature co-fired ceramics substrates. The fabricated 1 W-class PA achieves a high output power of greater than 30 dBm and a maximum power added efficiency of over 40% in all operating modes.

The electrostatic force required for the driving of liquid droplet injected in a microchannel was studied to obtain the guiding principle to reduce the driving voltage of waveguide optical switch based on the movement of droplet. We analytically calculated the relation between the threshold voltage and velocity of droplet and the surface roughness of microchannel, and clarified some unconfirmed parameters by comparing experimental results and aeromechanical analysis. The driving of droplet in a microchannel was best analyzed using the Hagen-Poiseuille flow theory, taking into account the movement of both ends of the droplet. When the droplet is driven by some external force, a threshold of the external force occurs in the starting of movement, and hysteresis occurs in the contact angle of the droplet to the side wall of the microchannel. The hysteresis of contact angle is caused by the roughness of side wall. In our experiment, the threshold voltage ranged from 200 to 350 V and the switching time from 34 to 36 ms. The velocity of droplet was evaluated to be 0.3-0.4 mm/s from these experimental results. On the other hand, the measured angle distribution of side wall roughness ranged from 30 to 110 degrees, and the threshold voltage was evaluated to be 100-320 V, showing a good agreement with experimental results. The reduction of threshold voltage can be realized by smoothing the side wall roughness of microchannel. The switching time of 10 ms, which is required for the optical stream switch, can be obtained by shortening the horizontal spot size down to 1.5 µm.

GaAs-based micromachining is a very attractive technique for integrating mechanical structures and active optical devices, such as laser diodes and photodiodes. For monolithically integrating mechanical parts onto laser diode wafers, the micromachining technique must be compatible with the laser diode fabrication process. Our micromachining technique features three major processes: epitaxitial growth (MOVPE) for both the structural and sacrificial layers, reactive dry-etching by chlorine for high-aspect, three-dimensional structures, and selective wet-etching by peroxide/ammonium hydroxide solution to release the moving parts. These processes are compatible with laser fabrication, so a cantilever beam structure can be fabricated at the same time as a laser diode structure. Furthermore, a single-crystal epitaxial layer has little residual stress, so precise microstructures can be obtained without significant deformation. We fabricated a microbeam resonator sensor composed of two laser diodes, a photodiode, and a micro-cantilever beam with an area of 400700 µm. The cantilever beam is 3 µm wide, 5 µm high, and either 110µm long for a 200-kHz resonant frequency or 50 µm long for a 1-MHz resonant frequency. The cantilever beam is excited by an intensity-modulated laser beam from an integrated excitation laser diode; the vibration signal is detected by a coupled cavity laser diode and a photodiode.