High resolution thermal characterization of a GaAs MMIC

We present the high resolution thermal characterization of a GaAs MMIC. The thermal imaging technique provides sub-microsecond temporal and sub-micron spatial resolutions. The results show that the gate area heats up in less than 3 us, much faster than the other area of the transistor. Also, the thermal cross talk between transistor arrays takes place in 100s us. This imaging method revealed unique thermal characteristics, not previously observed with traditional thermal measurement techniques.