A Gallium Arsenide Microwave Diode

The semiconductor properties of gallium arsenide, particularly the high electron mobility and forbidden band gap, besides favorable point contact rectification characteristics, are of interest for microwave diode applications. The device feasibility evaluation described in this paper indicates that, both theoretically and experimentally, gallium arsenide is potentially superior to germanium and silicon in point contact diodes. Besides an improvement in mixer conversion loss, gallium arsenide diodes promise to be operable at appreciably higher temperatures than germanium and silicon units. The noise temperature values for the three materials are comparable. There are indications that gallium arsenide can be used advantageously in fast switching diodes.