Varactor shunt switches with parallel capacitor architecture

A parallel-capacitor varactor shunt switch comprising:

• a shunt layer;
• a coplanar waveguide layer;
• and
• a tunable thin-film dielectric layer that is interposed between the shunt layer and the signal layer and electrically isolates the shunt layer from the signal layer,
• wherein:
• the shunt layer comprises a first shunt-layer ground line, a second shunt-layer ground line parallel to the first shunt-layer ground line, and a plurality of parallel shunt lines that each electrically connect the first shunt-layer ground line and the second shunt-layer ground line;
• the coplanar waveguide layer comprises a first coplanar waveguide ground line, a second coplanar waveguide ground line parallel to the first coplanar waveguide ground line, and a coplanar waveguide signal transmission line interposed between the first coplanar waveguide ground line and the second coplanar waveguide ground line;
• the plurality of parallel shunt lines in the shunt layer are not parallel to the coplanar waveguide signal transmission line in the signal layer,
• a plurality of varactor areas equal in number to the plurality of parallel shunt lines are defined in the coplanar waveguide signal transmission line, each varactor area corresponding to an overlap of the coplanar waveguide signal transmission line with a respective shunt line;
• and
• each respective shunt line and its corresponding varactor area defines a capacitor.