Low-noise GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s with optimum noise figures of 1.6 dB at 6 GHz have been fabricated by projection photolithography. An equation has been developed for the calculation of optimum noise figure which gives good agreement between calculated and measured values.     

Computer study of submicrometre f.e.t.s

The electrical properties of f.e.t.s with submicrometre gates are investigated by means of a 2-dimensional computer model. It is found that the gain-bandwidth product increases with decreasing gate length and reaches a value of 70 GHz for 0.1 ?m gates. This improvement is, however, at the expense of open-circuit voltage gain. A practical limit of the gate length for useful devices is found to be about 0.1 ?m.     

High-speed 1 ?m GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.

By minimising parasitic series resistances, a GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. with 1 ?m gate length was fabricated, possessing the highest known r.f. power gain, measured up to 18 GHz, for GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s.     

Performance of GaAs power m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Power performance results at 4 GHz are summarised for GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s ranging in size from 4 to 16 mm gate periphery. A double-chip 16 mm unit operated at 24 V source-drain bias produced 13.5 W with 3 dB gain and 10.7 W with 8.1 dB gain. Although lack of perfect power and gain scaling is observed, the degradation in output power of the 16 mm devices was only 1 dB compared to the smaller devices.     

High-efficiency GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifiers

High-efficiency c.w. amplification with GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s under class-B conditions has been demonstrated. Power added efficiencies as high as 68% at 4 GHz and 41% at 8 GHz have been achieved. Two-tone tests were carried out at 4 GHz. The power added efficiencies at the 3rd-order intermodulation levels of ?20, ?25 and ?30 dB were 49, 40 and 35% respectively.     

Avalanche noise in GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Instabilities in the d.c. characteristics of GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s for drain to source voltages greater than 4 V. believed to be due to reloading of traps in the interface between active layer and bulk material, or gunn-domain formation, seem to have their origin in avalanche breakdown of the back diode under the drain contact. Microplasma switching, vertical to the active layer, strongly modulates the drain current producing large broadband noise power.     

Substrate conduction in GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Substrate currents in a gateless GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. have been measured at d.c, 0.9 MHz and 2 GHz. The results are consistent with the assumption of substrate conduction at high frequencies and active-layer conduction alone at low frequencies.     

Transient 2-dimensional simulation of a submicrometre gate-length m.e.s.f.e.t.

The large-signal transient step response of a 0.4 ?m-gate-length GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. has been computed with a full 2-dimensional simulation. The falltime is saturated drift velocity limited. Details of this transient calculation and the use of a higher order [O(h4)] finite-element method are described.     

Optimised doping profiles for speed-up of GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Simulation of m.e.s.f.e.t. logic cell shows that discharging of the gate depletion is significantly slower than the charging process. The transient response with the charging/discharging is analytically connected to arbitrary doping profiles. Specific profiles with a doping peak near the substrate boundary can reduce this discharging delay remarkably.     

V-shaped-gate GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. for improved high-frequency performance

The idea of gate shaping in f.e.t.s was implemented into the GaAs-m.e.s.f.e.t. structure. A m.e.s.f.e.t. with 2 ?m gate length was fabricated, the measured m.a.g. data of which allow an extrapolation to an fmax of about 45 GHz.     

Femtojoule logic circuit using normally-off GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Experimental results are reported on the speed/power performance of normally-off-type GaAs-m.e.s.f.e.t. logic circuits, using an integrated 15-stage ring oscillator as a test circuit. A power consumption as low as 1-5 ?W, corresponding to a power-delay product of 1.6 fJ, was obtained. Conversely, a propagation delay time of 650 ps was measured for a power consumption of 20 ?W per gate.     

GaAs gigabit logic circuits using normally-off m.e.s.f.e.t.s

Normally-off GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. logic circuits fabricated by electron beam lithography have exhibited excellent high speed switching characteristics. The highest switching speed evaluated from a 15-stage ring oscillator is 30 ps per gate with a power dissipation of 1.9 mW. Binary frequency dividers have been fabricated with D-type flip-flops operating up to 3 GHz. A divide-by-eight counter has also operated at 2.5 GHz.     

Modelling of Gunn-domain effects in GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. [S22] values larger than unity have been measured from 1 to 10 GHz in the region where the ID/VD curves display a negative slope. An explanation of this phenomenon is proposed in terms of Gunn-domain formation. An equivalent-circuit model which includes this effect is presented and discussed.     

X and Ku band GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.

A GaAs Schottky-barrier f.e.t. (m.e.s.f.e.t.) with a 1 ?m gate has been built, which is suitable for X band and Ku band applications. The unilateral power gain over the X band is above 9 dB and the noise figure is only 5 dB at 10 GHz.     

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.: a high-speed optical detector

The application of a GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. as a high-speed optical detector has been investigated and compared with the result of a fast a.p.d.     

Simplified GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. model to 10 GHz

A simplified design-oriented equivalent circuit for the GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. is presented. Its relation to a common, but more complex, model is derived and characteristics are compared. Element values are easily determined from measurements, and the simple model shows good agreement with measured parameters to 10 GHz for 1 ?m-gate m.e.s.f.e.t.s.     

7.9?8.4 GHz GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifier

A 4-stage balanced GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifier has been developed for the 7.9?8.4 GHz satellite-communication frequency band. Linear gain of 26±0.5dB and 150 mW power at 1 dB compression were obtained across the design band. The small-signal gain, phase linearity, group delay and noise figure are described as a function of frequency. Large-signal gain saturation, 3rd-order intermodulation distortion, gain and phase against temperature and a.m.-to-p.m. conversion data are also presented.     

GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. technology and characteristics for optical communication systems

For pulse regeneration applications GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s with low pinch-off voltages are desirable. The technology and the dependence of the input/output pulse width ratio on the bias voltage are described. The pulse behaviour of a two-stage sharpener is shown and the block diagram of an optical repeater station is proposed.     

GaAs power m.e.s.f.e.t.s. with a graded recess structure

A new recess structure device was developed to improve the field distrubution and therfore the performance of GaAs power m.e.s.f.e.t.s. The linear gain and the output power were improved by 1?2 dB for this structure. The highest output powers obtained are 15 W with 4 dB associated gain at 6 GHz, and 4.3 W with 3 dB associated gain at 11 GHz.     

Analysis of intermodulation distortion in GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifiers

Intermodulation distortion generated in a m.e.s.f.e.t. amplifier is analysed using a Volterra series representation. The transistor model used enables direct analytical determination of the nonlinear elements from small signal measurements. Experimental verification comparing predicted and measured second-and third-order intermodulation products in the amplifer is presented.