Microwave Semiconductor Devices

The book starts with the basics of semiconductor physics required for the understanding of high frequency semiconductor devices. The active two-terminal devices are well suited to study the occurence of drift and diffusion mechanisms, heat conduction problems, loss mechanisms, millimeter wave semiconductor technology and packaging aspects. Impedance matching and application examples conclude the section on Gunn and transit time devices. The physics of Schottky contacts and their application to design and properties of Schottky diodes is discussed in the second focal point of this part. Detector and mixer circuits with Schottky diodes play an important role up to THz frequencies. Recently investigated two terminal devices employing heterostructures is considered. The second part is entirely devoted to three terminal devices. The bipolar transistor and its basic properties and limits with respect to high frequency operation are discussed. Questions of technology as well as modelling are adressed. The heterojunction bipolar transistor then can be understood as a natural bypass of these limits. The extraction of characteristic transistor parameters at high frequencies is of importance for the performance evaluation of the different transistor types and therefore treated in more detail. Field effect transistors are introduced and the metal semiconductor field effect transistor is discussed in detail. The family of heterostructure field effect transistors and especially the high electron mobility transistor is explained. Application examples and links to latest research activities are given. Aspects of multiplier and switching devices conclude this second part.