Thermal constraints for heterostructure barrier varactors
Journal article, 2004

Current research on heterostructure barrier varactors (HBVs) devotes much effort to the generation of very high power levels in the millimeter wave region. One way of increasing the power handling capacity of HBVs is to stack several barriers epitaxially. However, the small device dimensions lead to very high temperatures in the active layers, deteriorating the performance. We have derived analytical expressions and combined those with finite element simulations, and used the results to predict the maximum effective number of barriers for HBVs. The thermal model is also used to compare the peak temperature and power handling capacity of GaAs and InP-based HBVs. It is argued that InP-based devices may be inappropriate for high-power applications due to the poor thermal conductivity of the InGaAs modulation layers.

frequency multiplier

semiconductor device thermal factors

heterostructure barrier varactor (HBV)

Author

Mattias Ingvarson

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

Byron Alderman

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Arne Olsen

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

Josip Vukusic

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

Jan Stake

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Microwave Electronics

IEEE Electron Device Letters

0741-3106 (ISSN) 15580563 (eISSN)

Vol. 25 11 713-715

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Subject Categories

Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering

DOI

10.1109/LED.2004.836804

More information

Latest update

5/20/2021