A New Concept for Microstrip-Integrated GaAs Schottky-Diodes

A new concept for integrated planar Schottky-diodes has been developed. It meets the two important requirements in the design of microwave diodes: high cutoff frequency and low parasitics. Only one epitaxial layer is needed. The Schottky contact is deposited on the slope of a mesa in order to obtain both low series resistance and low capacitance. Up to now a zero bias cutoff frequency of 150 GHz has been achieved. The advantage of this type of diodes as compared to planar diodes produced by double selective epitaxy is the use of standard technology, resulting in good reproducibility and yield.