Patent ID: 8633754

Claim:
An attenuator, comprising: a silicon-on-insulator type (SOI) substrate having a device layer, a handle layer, and an insulating layer between the device layer and the handle layer; a first attenuation circuit having a first variable attenuation level that is adjustable within a first continuous attenuation range, wherein: the first attenuation circuit comprises a first plurality of stacked transistors formed in the device layer of the SOI substrate; the first plurality of stacked transistors are coupled to provide a first variable impedance level having a first continuous impedance range; the first variable attenuation level is based on the first variable impedance level; the insulating layer of the SOI substrate is configured so that an impedance level of a parasitic capacitance of the first plurality of stacked transistors is below the first continuous impedance range; and a control circuit configured to receive an attenuation control signal, the control circuit being operably associated with the first plurality of stacked transistors to control the first variable impedance level based on a signal level of the attenuation control signal.