The effects of substrate gettering on GaAs MESFET performance

An increase of about 40 percent in dc transconductance and RF gain of directly ion-implanted GaAs MESFET´s was observed when the substrates were subjected to an extrinsic gettering treatment before ion implantation. The gettering treatment consisted of mechanical damage on the backside of the wafer followed by a mild heat treatment. The relationship between material parameters and MESFET performance is discussed and a mechanism for the gettering action is proposed.