Investigation of Contact Edge Effects in the Channel of Planar Gunn Diodes

A. Mindil; G. M. Dunn; A. Khalid; C. H. Oxley

doi:10.1109/TED.2019.2951301

Investigation of Contact Edge Effects in the Channel of Planar Gunn Diodes

A. Mindil^*, G. M. Dunn, A. Khalid, C. H. Oxley

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The effect of the edge of the channel on the operation of planar Gunn diodes has been examined using Monte Carlo simulations. High fields at the corner of the anode contact are known to cause impact ionization and consequent electroluminescence, but our simulations show that the Gunn domains are attracted to these corners, perturbing the formation of the domains, which can lead to chaotic dynamics within the rest of the channel leading to uneven heating and reduced RF output power. We show how novel shaping of the electrical contacts at the ends of the channel reduces the attraction and restores the domain wavefronts for good device operation.

Original language	English
Article number	8913625
Pages (from-to)	53-56
Number of pages	4
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Volume	67
Issue number	1
Early online date	26 Nov 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2019.2951301
Publication status	Published - Jan 2020

Keywords

Anodes
Cathodes
Contacts
Shape
Radio frequency
Distortion
Monte Carlo methods
Channel edge
GaAs
Monte Carlo
planar Gunn diode

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10.1109/TED.2019.2951301Licence: Unspecified

Link to publication in Scopus

Cite this

Mindil, A., Dunn, G. M., Khalid, A., & Oxley, C. H. (2020). Investigation of Contact Edge Effects in the Channel of Planar Gunn Diodes. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 67(1), 53-56. [8913625]. https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2019.2951301

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abstract = "The effect of the edge of the channel on the operation of planar Gunn diodes has been examined using Monte Carlo simulations. High fields at the corner of the anode contact are known to cause impact ionization and consequent electroluminescence, but our simulations show that the Gunn domains are attracted to these corners, perturbing the formation of the domains, which can lead to chaotic dynamics within the rest of the channel leading to uneven heating and reduced RF output power. We show how novel shaping of the electrical contacts at the ends of the channel reduces the attraction and restores the domain wavefronts for good device operation.",

keywords = "Anodes, Cathodes, Contacts, Shape, Radio frequency, Distortion, Monte Carlo methods, Channel edge, GaAs, Monte Carlo, planar Gunn diode",

author = "A. Mindil and Dunn, {G. M.} and A. Khalid and Oxley, {C. H.}",

note = "Manuscript received September 12, 2019; revised October 24, 2019; accepted October 30, 2019. Date of publication November 26, 2019; date of current version December 30, 2019. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank the University of Aberdeen for providing the necessary support.",

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AU - Oxley, C. H.

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