Si1−xGex/Si multi-quantum well phototransistor for near-infrared operation

For the first time in the literature, we report the monolithic integration of SiGe near-infrared phototransistor and planar hetero-junction bipolar transistor (HBT). The phototransistor is made with SiGe/Si multi-quantum well structure (MQW_PHT). At room temperature, the MQW_PHT reveals an optical responsivity of 1904 mW/A at 0.85 μm and 1.25 mW/A at 1.3 μm under the reversed bias of V_CE=1.5 V. For electrical DC and microwave performance, the SiGe HBT has a current gain of 160 and a cut-off frequency (f_T) of 25 GHz, respectively.     

Novel 53/106 GHz Dual-Band MMW LC Oscillator Implemented in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

In this Paper, we present a fully integrated millimeter wave LC voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), which employs a novel topology, operating at dual-band frequency of 53.22 GHz-band and 106.44 GHz-band. The low-phase noise performance of –107.3 dBc/Hz and –106.1 dBc/Hz at the offset frequency of 600 kHz, –111.8 dBc/Hz and –110.6 dBc/Hz at the offset frequency of 1 MHz around 53.22 GHz and 106.44 GHz are achieved using IBM BiCMOS-6HP technology, respectively. Two tuning ranges, of 52.7 - 53.8 GHz and 105.4 - 107.6 GHz for the proposed LC VCO are obtained. The output voltage swing of this VCO is around 1.8 V_p-p at the operation frequency of 53.22 GHz and 0.45 V_p-p at 106.44 GHz; the total power consumption is about 16.5 mW. To our knowledge, this is the first oscillator which operates at dual-band frequency above 50 GHz with the best preformance.     

Physical simulations and experimental results of 4H—SiC MESFETs on high purity semi-insulating substrates

In this paper we report on DC and RF simulations and experimental results of 4H--SiC metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) on high purity semi-insulating substrates. DC and small-signal measurements are compared with simulations. We design our device process to fabricate n-channel 4H--SiC MESFETs with 100~μm gate periphery. At 30~V drain voltage, the maximum current density is 440~mA/mm and the maximum transconductance is 33~mS/mm. For the continuous wave (CW) at a frequency of 2~GHz, the maximum output power density is measured to be 6.6~W/mm, with a gain of 12~dB and power-added efficiency of 33.7％. The cut-off frequency (f_T) and the maximum frequency (f_max) are 9~GHz and 24.9~GHz respectively. The simulation results of f_T and f_max are 11.4~GHz and 38.6~GHz respectively.     

Improved 4H–SiC MESFET with double source field plate structures

An improved 4H–SiC power MESFET with double source field plates (DSFP) for high-power applications is proposed (DSFP-MESFET). The DSFP structure significantly modifies the electric field in the drift layer. The influence of the DSFP structure on saturation current, breakdown voltage (V_b), and small-signal characteristics of the DSFP-MESFET were studied by numerical device simulation. The V_b of 359 V is obtained for the DSFP-MESFET compared to 301 V of the conventional source field plate MESFET (LSFP-MESFET). Hence, the maximum output power density of 24.7 and 21.8 W/mm are achieved for the DSFP-MESFET and LSFP-MESFET, respectively, which means 13% improvement for the proposed device. Also, the cut-off frequency (f_T) of 24.5 and the maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) of 89.1 GHz for the 4H–SiC DSFP-MESFET are obtained compared to 23.1 and 85.3 GHz for that of the LSFP-MESFET structure, respectively. The DSFP-MESFET shows a superior maximum stable gain (MSG) exceeding 23.3 dB at 3.1 GHz, which is presenting the potential of the proposed device for high-power operations.     

New 4H silicon carbide metal semiconductor field-effect transistor with a buffer layer between the gate and the channel layer

A new 4H silicon carbide metal semiconductor field-effect transistor (4H-SiC MESFET) structure with a buffer layer between the gate and the channel layer is proposed in this paper for high power microwave applications. The physics-based analytical models for calculating the performance of the proposed device are obtained by solving one- and two-dimensional Poisson's equations. In the models, we take into account not only two regions under the gate but also a third high field region between the gate and the drain which is usually omitted. The direct-current and the alternating-current performances for the proposed 4H-SiC MESFET with a buffer layer of 0.2 μ m are calculated. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The current is larger than that of the conventional structure. The cutoff frequency (f_T) and the maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) are 20.4 GHz and 101.6 GHz, respectively, which are higher than 7.8 GHz and 45.3 GHz of the conventional structure. Therefore, the proposed 4H-SiC MESFET structure has better power and microwave performances than the conventional structure.     

Fabrication of 160-nm T-gate metamorphic AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs on GaAs substrates by metal organic chemical vapour deposition

The fabrication and performance of 160-nm gate-length metamorphic AlInAs/GaInAs high electron mobility tran-sistors (mHEMTs) grown on GaAs substrate by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) are reported. By using a novel combined optical and e-beam photolithography technology, submicron mHEMTs devices have been achieved. The devices exhibit good DC and RF performance. The maximum current density was 817 mA/mm and the maximum transconductance was 828 mS/mm. The non-alloyed Ohmic contact resistance Rc was as low as 0.02 Ω- mm. The unity current gain cut-off frequency (fT) and the maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) were 146 GHz and 189 GHz, respectively. This device has the highest fT yet reported for a 160-nm gate-length HEMTs grown by MOCVD. The output conductance is 28.9 mS/mm, which results in a large voltage gain of 28.6. Also, an input capacitance to gate-drain feedback capacitance ratio, Cgs/Cgd, of 4.3 is obtained in the device.     

Design optimization of tunneling field-effect transistor based on silicon nanowire PNPN structure and its radio frequency characteristics

Recently, a number of semiconductor devices have been widely researched in order to make breakthroughs from the short-channel effects (SCEs) and high standby power dissipation of the conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). In this paper, a design optimization for the silicon nanowire tunneling field-effect transistor (SNW TFET) based on PNPN multi-junction structure and its radio frequency (RF) performances are presented by using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations. The design optimization was carried out in terms of primary direct-current (DC) parameters such as on-current (I_on), off-current (I_off), current ratio (I_on/I_off), and subthreshold swing (SS). Based on the parameters from optimized DC characteristics, basic radio frequency (RF) performances such as cut-off frequency (f_T) and maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) were analyzed. The simulated device had a channel length of 60 nm and a SNW radius of 10 nm. The design variable was width of the n-doped layer. For an optimally designed PNPN SNW TFET, SS of 34 mV/dec and I_on of 35 μA/μm were obtained. For this device, f_T and f_max were 80 GHz and 800 GHz, respectively.     

Rydberg states in the D layer of the atmosphere and the GPS positioning errors

The noncoherent radiation in the frequency range 0.8–8.0 (GHz) formed in the D layer of the ionosphere at high solar activity due to transitions between Rydberg states is considered. The emitting layer thickness located 80–110 km above ground surface is estimated. A complicated irregular behavior of the frequency dependence of the radiation intensity for different values of å electron concentration n _e and temperature T _e due to different characteristics of electron scattering on the nitrogen and oxygen molecules is revealed. The dependences of the flux power of UHF radiation from the D layer in the indicated frequency range on the concentration and temperature of free electrons are calculated. It is shown that, at a frequency of ν = 1.44 GHz, the UHF radiation spectrum features a characteristic waist point, the position of which is almost independent of the electron temperature T _e ; i.e., a one-parameter dependence of the power flux on the electron n _e density takes place. In the frequency range of 4.0–8.0 GHz, the radiation spectrum exhibits a family of curves that, for each value of n _e and a wide range of T _e , give rise to a relationship known as the “bottleneck.” It was found that, with increasing frequency, the bottleneck moves upwards along a curve described by a quadratic dependence on the radiation frequency. For a frequency of ～5 GHz, and a certain range of temperature T _e and electron concentration within 5 · 10³ cm^?3 < n _e < 2 · 10⁴ cm^?3, an almost linear dependence of the UHF radiation power on n _e is observed. A comparative analysis of GPS signal delays at frequencies ν _f ⁽¹⁾ = 1.57 and ν _f ⁽²⁾ ≈ 5 GHz for various states of the ionosphere is performed. It is shown that, under the same condition, the use of the second frequency is more advantageous and informative. The ways of further development of the theory and experiment in studying the role of quantum resonant properties in the distortion of global satellite positioning system signals and in solving the fundamental problem of their elimination are discussed.     

Stimulated brillouin scattering of electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in a plasma

Using the fluid model for the nonlinear response of ions, we have studied the nonlinear scattering of an electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave off the ion acoustic wave in a plasma. The low frequency nonlinearity arises through the parallel ponderomotive force on ions and the high frequency nonlinearity arises through the nonlinear current density of ions. For a typical nonisothermal plasma (T _e/T _i∼10) the threshold for this instability in a uniform plasma is ∼1mW/cm². At power densities ≳10² W/cm², the growth rate for backscatter turns out to be ∼10⁴s⁻¹.     

Diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO<Subscript>4</Subscript> laser with a carbon nanotube saturable absorber

A diode end-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser with a transmission-type single-walled carbon nanotube saturable absorber is first demonstrated in this paper. The maximum continuous wave (CW) output power of 477 mW is obtained at the incident pump power of 1490 mW with the output transmission T = 10%, resulting in slope efficiency of 41.3%. For Q-switching operation, the measured pulse duration of 332 ns, the pulse energy of 326 nJ and the peak power of 982 mW are respectively obtained.     

A novel double-recessed 4H-SiC MESFET with partly undoped space region

In this paper, a novel double-recessed 4H-SiC metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) with partly undoped space region (DRUS-MESFET) is introduced. The key idea in this work is to improve the DC and RF characteristics of the device by introducing an undoped space region. Using two-dimensional and two-carrier device simulation, we demonstrate that breakdown voltage (V_BR) increases from 109 V in conventional double recessed MESFET (DR-MESFET) structure to 144.5 V in the DRUS-MESFET structure due to the modified channel electric field distribution of the proposed structure. The maximum output power density of the DRUS-MESFET structure is about 25.4% larger than that of the DR-MESFET structure. Furthermore, lower gate-drain capacitance (C_GD), higher cut-off frequency (f_T), larger maximum available gain (MAG), and higher maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) are achieved for the DRUS-MESFET structure. The results show that the f_max and f_T of the proposed structure improve 95.6% and 13.07% respectively, compared with that of the DR-MESFET structure. Also, the MAG of the DRUS-MESET is 4.5 dB higher than that of the DR-MESFET structure at 40 GHz. The results show that the DRUS-MESFET structure has superior electrical characteristics and performances in comparison with the DR-MESFET structure.     

On the signal-to-noise ratio enhancement of the Doppler process

The output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the ultrasound Doppler process, with and without the commonly used sample and hold circuit, is calculated rigorously, and confirmed by experiment. On the basis of this result it is shown that the use of pulsed Doppler processing without increase of the transmitted power enhances the output SNR of a pulse-echo system observing moving particles by the factor f_rT_t, where f_r is the repetition rate of the pulse echo and Doppler systems and T_t is the transit time of the particles across the range cell. If nonlinear losses are significant, then changing to continuous Doppler operation and lowering the peak transmitted power to maintain the average power constant can produce additional improvement in SNR due to reduced non-linear losses in the transducer and the propagation medium, as well as reduced requirements for transducer damping.     

An efficient Schottky-varactor frequency multiplier at millimeter waves. Part II: Tripler

The multiplication efficiency of millimeter wave triplers was studied. In the case of a commercially available Schottky-varactor, the tripler efficiency versus pump power, bias voltage, and embedding impedances at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies was simulated using a nonlinear analysis program. A scaled model of a waveguide mount was used to experimentally optimize the impedances. For experimental verification a tripler from 33–39 GHz to 99–117 GHz was constructed. The highest efficiency measured was 28% at 107 GHz with 5 mW input power. The highest efficiency obtained with 30 mW input power was 18%.     

Ultraviolet Phototransistors on AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures

We report on the fabrication and characterization of phototransistors based on AIGaN/GaN heterostructure grown over 6H-SiC substrates. The device has two functions： as a high electron mobility transistor （HEMT） and an ultraviolet photodetector at the same time. As an HEMT, its maximum transconductance is 170mS/ram, while the minimum cutoff frequency fT and the maximum oscillation frequency fm are 19 and 35 GHz, respectively. As a photodetector, the device is visible blind, with an ultraviolet/green contrast of three orders of magnitude, and a responsivity as high as 1700 A/W at the wavelength of 362nm.     

Self-Aligned SiGe MOS-Gate FET with Modulation-Doped Quantum Wire Channel for Millimeter Wave Application

This paper describes a self-aligned SiGe MOS-gate field-effect transistor (FET) having a modulation-doped (MOD) quantum wire channel. An analytical model based on modified charge control equations accounting for the quantum wire channel, is presented predicting the transport characteristics of the MOS-gate MODFET structure. In particular, transport characteristics of devices having strained SiGe layers, realized on Si or Ge substrates, are computed. The transconductance g_m and unity-current gain cutoff frequency (f_T) are also computed as a function of the gate voltage V_G. The calculated values of f_T suggest the operation of one-dimensional SiGe MODFETs to be around 200 GHz range at 77°K, and 120 GHz at 300°K.     

Effect of Temperature Variation on the Characteristics of Microwave Power AlGaN/GaN MODFET

The prime motivation for developing the proposed model of AlGaN/GaN microwave power device is to demonstrate its inherent ability to operate at much higher temperature. An investigation of temperature model of a 1 μm gate AlGaN/GaN enhancement mode n-type modulation-doped field effect transistor (MODFET) is presented. An analytical temperature model based on modified charge control equations is developed. The proposed model handles higher voltages and show stable operation at higher temperatures. The investigated temperature range is from 100 °K–600 °K. The critical parameters of the proposed device are the maximum drain current (I_Dmax), the threshold voltage (V_th), the peak dc trans-conductance (g_m), and unity current gain cut-off frequency (f_T). The calculated values of f_T (10–70 GHz) at elevated temperature suggest that the operation of the proposed device has sufficiently high current handling capacity. The temperature effect on saturation current, cutoff frequency, and trans-conductance behavior predict the device behavior at elevated temperatures. The analysis and simulation results on the transport characteristics of the MODFET structure is compared with the previously measured experimental data at room temperature. The calculated critical parameters suggest that the proposed device could survive in extreme environments.     

A W-band Frequency Source with Low Spurs and Low Phase Noise

A W-band millimeter wave frequency source is developed by frequency multiplier chain and injection locking. The referenced crystal oscillator (CO) signal 120 MHz is multiplied 400 times to output 48 GHz signal. Then, it is used as a referenced source of fundamental-wave injection-locked harmonic Gunn oscillator with output power more than 10 mW at 96 GHz and spurious output less than −65 dBc. The measured phase noise is −97 and −105 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz and 200 kHz offset, respectively. At last, the influence of the flicker noise, provided by the frequency multipliers and amplifiers, is analyzed.     

Response of Granular La1??xCaxMnO3 Film to 10?GHz and 35?GHz Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation

The nonbolometric response of La_1 − xCa_xMnO₃ film to 10 GHz and 35 GHz frequency electromagnetic radiation is investigated in the case when, in addition to the strong electric field of the wave, the film is subjected to a stationary electric bias field. Dependences of responses on the radiation power P at temperature T = 80 K are presented. In the low power region, a linear dependence of the response on P is observed at both frequencies whereas for high powers the dependence behaves as ~P ^1/2. The obtained results are explained taking into account that the nonbolometric response originates from the intergranular junctions that operate in the reverse current regime. There two effects take place: (i) at low powers the detection resistance decreases with increasing power P, and (ii) at higher powers in addition to that the film resistance decreases as P ^1/2 due to the avalanche of charge carriers in the electric field of the electromagnetic wave.     

An efficient Schottky-varactor frequency multiplier at millimeter waves. Part I: Doubler

The efficiency of millimeter wave doublers with a wide tunable bandwidth was studied. The efficiency depends on the varactor parameters and the embedding impedances seen by the diode at fundamental and harmonic frequencies. Millimeter wave doublers were simulated with a nonlinear analysis program to find optimum embedding impedances for a given diode. Also the sensitivity of the efficiency to various diode and circuit parameters was evaluated. A scaled model was constructed in order to experimentally optimize the impedances. For experimental verification a doubler from 40–58 GHz to 80–116 GHz was constructed. The highest efficiency measured was 45% at 94 GHz with 5 mW input power. The highest efficiency obtained with 20 mW input power was 38%.