THEGUNNEFFECT：耿氏效应.pdfVIP

Gunn Effect Page 1 of 7 JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITÆT LINZ INSTITUT FÜR HALBLEITER- UND FESTKÖRPERPHYSIK ALTENBERGER STRASSE 69 A-4040 LINZ/AUSTRIA THE GUNN EFFECT J. B. Gunn, Microwave Oscillation of Current in III-V Semiconductors, Solid State Commun., 1 88 (1963) The Gunn Effect In some materials (III-V compounds such as GaAs and InP), after an electric field in the material reaches a threshold level, the mobility of electrons decrease as the electric field is increased, thereby producing negative resistance. A two-terminal device made from such a material can produce microwave oscillations, the frequency of which is primarily determined by the characteristics of the specimen of the material and not by any external circuit. The Gunn Effect was discovered by J. B. Gunn of IBM in 1963. The Gunn Diode In certain semiconductors, notably GaAs, electrons can exist in a high-mass low velocity state as well as their normal low-mass high-velocity state and they can be forced into the high-mass state by a steady electric field of sufficient strength. In this state they form clusters or domains which cross the field at a constant rate causing current to flow as a series of pulses. This is the Gunn effect and one form of diode which makes use of it consists of an epitaxial layer of n-type GaAs grown on a GaAs substrate. A potential of a few volts applied between ohmic contacts to the n-layer and substrate produces the electric field which causes clusters. The frequency of the current pulses so generated depends on the transit time through the n-layer and hence on its thickness. If the diode is mounted in a suitably tuned cavity resonator, the current pulses cause oscillation by shock excitation and r.f. power up to 1 W at frequencies be