Effect of distributed gate diode on MESFET power performance evaluated by harmonic balance simulation

Author

White, P.M.

Author_Institution

Raytheon Co., Wayland, MA, USA

fYear

1991

fDate

10-14 July 1991

Firstpage

611

Abstract

A mechanism for power limitation in GaAs MESFETs which arises from the distributed conduction properties of the resistive gate diode is evaluated using harmonic balance simulation in conjunction with a distributed diode model. It is shown that 1 dB compressed power output and peak efficiency depend on unit gate finger width, which has significance for device layout and choice of gate technology in high-power applications. Simulations for a typical X-band FET showed that 1 dB compressed power output and peak efficiency decreased with increasing gate finger width. The predicted power reduction of 50 mW/mm and efficiency reduction of 8% when gate finger width was increased from 50 to 200 mu are supported qualitatively by experimental data.<>

Keywords

Schottky gate field effect transistors; power transistors; semiconductor device models; solid-state microwave devices; GaAs; MESFET power performance; X-band; compressed power output; device layout; distributed conduction properties; distributed diode model; distributed gate diode; harmonic balance simulation; peak efficiency; power limitation; power reduction; unit gate finger width; Drives; FETs; Fingers; Gallium arsenide; MESFETs; Mechanical factors; Power system harmonics; Radio frequency; Schottky diodes; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 1991., IEEE MTT-S International

Conference_Location

Boston, MA, USA

ISSN

0149-645X

Print_ISBN

0-87942-591-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.1991.147077

Filename

147077