an929Fast Switching PIN Diodes Application Note 929 Switching Speed Definitions The switching speed of a PIN diode may be defined and measured in a number of ways. Ideally, we would like to think of it as the time it takes the device to make the transition from the minimum insertion loss case to the maximum isolation case or vice versa. Because of the charge nonlinearities during switching of the device and the need for reasonable measurement techniques, we often settle for some definitions less than ideal. A figure of switching capability commonly used by industry is the reverse recovery time (trr). Figure 1a shows the diode in the RF test circuit. Figure 1b shows the monitored current through the diode used to determine the reverse recovery time. Note that under initial conditions, a forwar……