Photosensitivity Analysis of Gallium Nitride and Silicon Carbide Terahertz IMPATT Oscillators: Comparison of Theoretical Reliability and Study on Experimental Feasibility

Reliability of terahertz-frequency (~1.0 THz) characteristics of wide-bandgap (WBG) wurtzite (Wz)-GaN- and 4H-SiC-based p⁺⁺nn⁺⁺-type single-drift-region (SDR) impact avalanche transit time (IMPATT) devices (normal and photoilluminated) is compared through a simulation scheme. The simulation experiment reveals that an RF power density of 3.37 times 10¹¹ W middotm^-2 (efficiency of 18.2%) at around 1.126 THz may be realized from the optimized unilluminated GaN IMPATT device, whereas the unilluminated 4H-SiC IMPATT device is expected to generate an RF power density of 1.35 times 10¹¹ W middotm^-2 (efficiency of 9%) at 1.05 THz. However, the parasitic series resistance reduces the maximum exploitable power density from the terahertz devices. Under optical illumination, additional photogenerated carriers are created in the devices, and these carriers change the admittance and negative resistance properties of the terahertz IMPATT diodes. The performance modulation of the terahertz devices is simulated, and the results are compared in this paper. Under external radiation, the operating frequencies of the GaN- and SiC-based diodes are found to shift upward by 6.0 and 40.0 GHz, respectively, with degradation of maximum output-power density level and device negative resistance. The extensive simulation experiments establish that, although the photosensitivity of the 4H-SiC-based IMPATT device is better than its GaN counterpart, the overall terahertz performance of the unilluminated GaN IMPATT device is far better than the 4H-SiC-based device, particularly in terms of output power and efficiency. The simulation results and the proposed experimental methodology presented here can be used for realizing optically tuned WBG IMPATT oscillators for terahertz communication.