High-temperature electrical characteristics of GaAs MESFETs(25-400°C)

The effects of elevated ambient and substrate temperatures (25°C up to 400°C) on the electrical characteristics of integrated GaAs MESFETs in a state-of-the-art commercial technology are reported. The focus is on the large- and small-signal parameters of the transistors. The existence of zero-temperature-coefficient drain currents is demonstrated analytically and experimentally for enhancement- and for depletion-mode GaAs MESFETs. The data show that, while GaAs MESFETs generally display degradation mechanisms similar to those of silicon MOSFETs with increasing temperature, they incur several additional effects, prominent among which are increased gate leakage currents, lowered Schottky-barrier height, decreased large- and small-signal (gate) input resistances, decreased sensitivity to sidegating and backgating up to approximately 200°C, and increased small-signal drain resistance