Title :
Gate-drain breakdown effects upon the large signal performance of GaAs MESFETs
Author :
Winslow, T.A. ; Fan, D. ; Trew, R.J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC, USA
Abstract :
GaAs MESFETs often demonstrate a negative breakdown slope characteristic. This slope can be critical in determining the RF performance of MESFET amplifiers. It is demonstrated that as the breakdown slope decreases, RF power performance is degraded. Tuning is also important because this adjusts the load line to allow maximum voltage and current swings on the drain. Reverse breakdown followed by forward gate conduction are confirmed to be the main saturation mechanisms for GaAs MESFETs.<>
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; Schottky gate field effect transistors; gallium arsenide; power transistors; radiofrequency amplifiers; semiconductor device models; GaAs; GaAs MESFETs; MESFET amplifiers; RF performance; RF power performance; forward gate conduction; gate drain breakdown effects; large signal performance; negative breakdown slope characteristic; reverse breakdown; saturation mechanisms; semiconductors; Costs; Electric breakdown; Equations; Fabrication; Gallium arsenide; MESFETs; Microwave circuits; Microwave devices; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency amplifiers;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium Digest, 1990., IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Dallas, TX
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.1990.99583
