In many switching applications, it may be desirable to use transistorized switches capable of handling large quantities of power without sustaining damage. Transistorized switches are small, fast, and generally require little power to open or close the state of the switches. For example, in a radio transceiver system, it may be desirable to use a transistorized switch to couple a transceiver to its antenna if the transistorized switch is capable of handling the anticipated power output of the transceiver or the anticipated power input from the antenna.
Transistors capable of accommodating high-power signals, however, tend to present some disadvantages. For example, high-power transistorized switches tend to have a high insertion loss, resulting in significant power loss when the switch is first activated. To take one specific example, although Gallium Nitride-based (GaN-based) field effect transistors (FETs) can accommodate high-power signals, GaN-based FETs have a high contact resistance and, thus, tend to have a high insertion loss. To overcome the insertion loss, a larger GaN-based FET could be used. However, using a larger GaN-based FET increases parasitic capacitance across the GaN-based FET. The coupling of the parasitic capacitance results in relatively poor isolation across the GaN-based FET when the GaN-based FET is turned off.