Surface potential effect on gate—Drain avalanche breakdown in GaAs MESFET´s

The surface potential effect on gate-drain avalanche breakdown in GaAs MESFET´s is investigated with a two-dimensional device simulator. It is shown that the surface potential effect changes the potential distribution in GaAs MESFET´s drastically and therefore plays an important role in determining drain breakdown voltage. In addition, two device structures producing high breakdown voltages, an offset gate structure and a recessed gate structure, are analyzed.