Topological and experimental analysis of stationary behaviour of transferred-electron devices with nonuniform geometry

A study is made of topological and experimental analysis of stationary behaviour of transferredelectron devices of uniform doping concentration with nonuniform geometry. Such and analysis is useful in the understanding and estimating of the static characteristics of GaAs m.e.s.f.e.t.s, microwave amplifiers and fast switching devices. It is shown that it is possible for the devices to exhibit negativ conductance, including switching between terminals, provided that the cross-sectional area increases steeply toward the anode, and the doping concentration is higher than a critical value; and that this results from the formation of a stationary high-field domain around the expanded part. The theoretical result is experimentally confirmed with GaAs devices.