Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wong, Melinda F
Other Authors: Jesús A. del Alamo.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34638
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author Wong, Melinda F
author2 Jesús A. del Alamo.
author_facet Jesús A. del Alamo.
Wong, Melinda F
author_sort Wong, Melinda F
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005.
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spelling mit-1721.1/346382019-04-10T17:44:35Z Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors Wong, Melinda F Jesús A. del Alamo. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2005. Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-137). AIGaAs/lnGaAs Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (PHEMTs) are widely used in satellite communications, military and commercial radar, cellular telephones, and other RF power applications. One key figure of merit in these applications is RF power output. Increasing the gate-to-drain length (LRD) of the PHEMT leads to an increase in its breakdown voltage. This should theoretically allow the selection of a higher drain operating voltage and consequently result in higher output power at microwave frequencies. However, experimentally, a decrease in output power and peak power-added efficiency is generally observed with increasing LRD In order to understand this, we have studied in detail the RF power performance of industrial PHEMTs with different values of LRD. We have found that there is an optimum value of LRD beyond which the maximum RF power output that the device can deliver drops. In addition, we have found that the output power of long LRD devices declines significantly with increasing frequency. We explain the difference in RF power behavior of the different devices through the evolution of load lines with frequency, LRD, and operating voltage. We have found that the presence of oscillations in the NDR region limit the maximum allowable operating voltage of long LRD devices through catastrophic burnout. The maximum voltage of short LRD devices is limited by electrical degradation. Pulsed I-V measurements have revealed that long LRD devices increasingly suffer from surface state activity that limit the maximum drain current under RF operation. A delay time analysis has shown an increasing extension of the depletion region toward the drain with increasing LRD that limits the frequency response of long LRD devices. by Melinda F. Wong. S.M. 2006-11-07T16:43:15Z 2006-11-07T16:43:15Z 2005 2005 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34638 70078404 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 137 p. 5738316 bytes 5745373 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Wong, Melinda F
Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title_full Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title_fullStr Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title_full_unstemmed Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title_short Effect of varying gate-drain distance on the RF power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
title_sort effect of varying gate drain distance on the rf power performance of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors
topic Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34638
work_keys_str_mv AT wongmelindaf effectofvaryinggatedraindistanceontherfpowerperformanceofpseudomorphichighelectronmobilitytransistors