Sensitivity of GaAs analogue integrated circuit building blocks to the effect of back-gating

The effects of back-gating on two basic GaAs precision analogue circuit building blocks have been established. Owing to internal gain, the stability of the single-stage inverter amplifier was found to be most susceptible to both positive and negative side-contact potentials, and the generation of low-frequency oscillations. The use of negative feedback to improve DC stability was demonstrated. In contrast, the source-follower exhibited relatively better stability against back-gating.