Investigation of low frequency dependence of output conductance in GaAs MESFET.pdfVIP

Int. J. Nanoelectronics and Materials 3 (2010) 9-15 Investigation of low frequency dependence of output conductance in GaAs MESFET A. Khoualdia, Z. Hadjoub, A. Doghmane* Laboratoire des Semi-conducteurs, Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences, Université Badji-Mokhtar, BP 12, Annaba, DZ-23000, Algeria. Abstract In this work, we experimentally investigate the effects of the extension of depletion regions in a GaAs MESFET on the frequency variation of the output conductance, gd, as well as the maximal relative variation, Δgdmax, at different polarisations of drain-source, Vds, and gate-source, Vgs. It is found that, for weak depleted regions, the values of gd(f) are very small with a Δgdmax which remains negligible. However, for large extensions, the values of gd(f) are very significant; they could reach 371.4 Ω-1 together with a Δgdmax high value of about 2.7 dB at Vds = 1.5V and │Vgs│ = 0.2V. Moreover, Δgdmax values undergo an increase when Vds increases. Hence, maximal variation of the dispersion gets higher when the re- gions become more depleted. Therefore, the widening of space charge region introduces frequency dispersion of gd that may limit potential GaAs MESFET applications in several fields in Micro- and nano-devices. Keywords: GaAs MESFET, output conductance, frequency dispersion, depletion region. PACS: 83.30.Tv; 73.61.Ey; 73.40.Sx; 71.55.Eq 1. Introduction Field effect transistors are playing a very important role in all modern electronic applications: amplification, signal generation, mixers, switching, etc. Among these devices, GaAs MESFET (MEtal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) are receiving a great deal of interest in space applications. However, the output conductance, gd, of these types of transistors depends on frequency, structure characteristics and polarisation conditions [1-5]. Such dependences lead to some difficulties in the design of several analogical and integra