Stability of Performance and Interfacial Problems in GaAs MESFET's

Abstract

Interface effects in GaAs MESFET's were investigated from the viewpoint of stability of performance. It was clarified, on the basis of a simple analytical model, that even a small fluctuation of the effective channel thickness due to interface effects causes drastic changes or drifts in performance characteristics of a GaAs MESFET. Paying attention mainly to the behavior of drain current, the interface effects were experimentally investigated for VPE-grown 1-µm-gate GaAs MESFET's with and without a buffer layer. It was revealed that they are due to deep acceptors or hole traps, which exist at the interfaces and in the buffer layer and the semi-insulating substrate, and found that the long-term drift is attributed to Cr in the buffer layer as well as in the semi-insulating substrate. Copyright © 1980 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.