Investigation of a New Concept in Semiconductor Microwave Oscillators
Abstract
The contiguous domain oscillator employs a two-dimensional electrostatic geometry to create conditions where a sequence of contiguous charge domains develop spontaneously in the channel region of an appropriately modified MESFET or MODFET device. These contiguous domains drift along the channel producing microwave oscillations in the drain current. Computer simulations indicate the device will be tunable over decades by control of the gate-to-source voltage. The ITT Gallium Arsenide Technology Center in Roanoke, VA, has fabricated two 2-inch wafers of MESFET-compatible oscillator devices for our use. Each wafer contains several thousand devices, and initial screen indicates near 100% yield at DC test. We discovered a design oversight which produced an excessive gate-to-channel voltage drop when biased to the voltages necessary for microwave testing, resulting in immediate failure of the device under these conditions. By suitable reprocessing at Purdue, we have eliminated this problem and now have devices which can withstand DC biasing at the required fields. This means we can now operate the devices in the CW mode for microwave testing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 31, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA198039
Entities
People
- James A. Cooper Jr.
Organizations
- Purdue University