Picosecond range switching of a GaAs avalanche transistor due to bulk carrier generation by avalanching Gunn domains

Sergey N. Vainshtein; Valentin S. Yuferev; Juha T Kostamovaara

doi:10.1117/12.520782

16 June 2004 Picosecond range switching of a GaAs avalanche transistor due to bulk carrier generation by avalanching Gunn domains

Sergey N. Vainshtein, Valentin S. Yuferev, Juha T Kostamovaara

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5352, Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.520782
Event: Integrated Optoelectronic Devices 2004, 2004, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Superfast high current switching of a GaAs-based JBT in the avalanche mode has been achieved experimentally for the first time. A very fast reduction in the voltage across the transistor was observed (~ 200-300 ps) and the amplitude of the current pulses ranged from 2 to 130 A depending on the load resistance. It was observed experimentally that the switching occurs in a number of synchronized current channels with a characteristic diameter of <~10 microns. A 1D simulation code was developed and the switching transient for a single channel was simulated, with the external circuit incorporated into the simulations. Photon-assisted carrier transport and negative differential electron mobility were taken into account in the theoretical model. The former does not play an appreciable role in the 1D switching transient, although the latter determines superfast switching at extreme current densities (> 1 MA/cm²). Superfast switching occurs due to the appearance of a number of Gunn domains at any instant (up to ~ 20 domains across a collector region ~30 microns in thickness). These domains of huge amplitude (up to ~700 kV/cm) are moving towards the cathode and give rise to extremely high ionization rates across the volume of the channel in the n0 collector region. The simulations provide a fairly reliable interpretation of the experimentally observed switching time, which is shorter than that in Si avalanche transistors by a factor of ~15. The new device is fairly attractive, e.g. for feeding pulsed laser diodes when the current rise time should be shorter than the lasing delay.

Citation Download Citation

Sergey N. Vainshtein, Valentin S. Yuferev, and Juha T Kostamovaara "Picosecond range switching of a GaAs avalanche transistor due to bulk carrier generation by avalanching Gunn domains", Proc. SPIE 5352, Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII, (16 June 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.520782

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