MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

• Transferred Electron Devices

• Avalanche Transit Time Devices
• Microwave Linear Beam Tubes
• Helix Travelling Wave guides
• Microwave Measurements

Text Book:
Samuel Y. Liao, Microwave Devices and Circuits, 3/e,
Prentice Hall of India, 2003.
 Module I:Transferred Electron Devices

• Introduction
• GUNN effect diodes (GaAs diode)
• GUNN diode principle of operation
• RWH theory
• Modes of operation
• LSA diodes
• Microwave generation and amplification.
 Introduction
• Positive resistance absorbs power (passive devices).
• Negative resistance generates power (active devices).
• Transistors operates with either junctions or gates.
• TEDs are bulk devices having no junctions or gates.
• Majority of transistors are fabricated from elemental
semiconductors (Si or Ge).
• TEDs are fabricated from compound semiconductors such as
Gallium Arsenide(GaAs), Indium Phosphide(InP), Cadmium
Telluride(CdTe).
• Transistors operate with “warm” electrons whose energy is not
much greater than the thermal energy(26mV at room
temperature) of electrons in the semiconductor.
• TEDs operate with “hot” electrons whose energy is very much
greater than the thermal energy.
 GUNN effect diodes (GaAs diode)
• J.B. Gunn discovered GUNN Diode in 1963.

• A Gunn diode is also known as a Transferred Electron Device

(TED).
• It is a form of diode used in high-frequency electronics.

• It consists only of n-doped semiconductor material, whereas

most diodes consist of both P and N-doped regions.
• A Gunn diode has a region of negative differential resistance.
GUNN Diode
• Above some critical voltage (Corresponding to
Electric field of 2k-4k V/cm) the current passing
through n-type GaAs becomes a periodic
fluctuating function of time.

• Frequency of oscillation is determined mainly

by the specimen, not by the external circuit.

• Period of oscillation is inversely proportional to

the specimen length and is equal to the transit
time of electrons between the electrodes.
 Gunn Effect
• Above some critical voltage (Corresponding to
Electric field of 2k-4k V/cm) the current passing
through n-type GaAs becomes a periodic fluctuating
function of time.

• Frequency of oscillation is determined mainly by the

specimen, not by the external circuit.

• Period of oscillation is inversely proportional to the

specimen length and is equal to the transit time of
electrons between the electrodes.
• The current waveform was produced by applying a
voltage pulse of 16V and 10ns duration to an n-type GaAs
of 2.5 x 10-3 cm length. The oscillation frequency was
4.5GHz.

• The upper trace was the expanded view of the lower trace.
RIDLEY-WATKINS-HILSUM (RWH)
Theory

• Differential negative resistance

• Two valley model

 Differential Negative Resistance
• Fundamental concept of RWH Theory.
• Developed in bulk solid state III-V compound when a voltage
or a current is applied to the terminals of the sample.
Modes of Negative Resistance Devices:
• Voltage Controlled Mode
• Current Controlled Mode
Differential Negative Resistance Contd..
• In the Voltage Controlled Mode the current density is
multivalued.
• In the Current Controlled Mode the voltage is multivalued.
• Differential negative resistance make the sample electrically
unstable.
Differential Negative Resistance Contd..
• In the voltage-controlled negative resistance mode
high filed domains are formed, separating two low
field regions.
• The interfaces separating low and high field domains
lie along equipotentials; thus they are in planes
perpendicular to the current direction.
• In the current-controlled negative resistance mode
splitting the sample results in high current filaments
running along the field direction.
Differential Negative Resistance Contd..

Multiple of Current Density for negative Resistance

 Two valley model theory

According to the
energy band theory
of n-type GaAs, a
high mobility lower
valley is separated
by an energy of
0.36eVfrom a lower
mobility upper
valley.

Two value model of electron energy versus wave number for n-type GaAs
Data for two valleys in GaAs
Electron transfer mechanism

Transfer of Electron Densities

 Electron transfer mechanism Contd..
• When the applied electric field is lower than the electric field of
the lower valley (E ˂ El ), no electrons will transfer to the upper
valley as shown in (a).

• When the applied electric field is higher than that of the lower
valley and lower than that of the upper valley (El ˂ E ˂ Eu),
electrons will begin to transfer to the upper valley as shown in
(b).

• When the applied electric field is higher than the electric field of
the upper valley (E ˃ Eu ), all electrons will transfer to the upper
valley as shown in (c).
 Conductivity of n-type GaAs

• e = Electron charge
• μ = Electron mobility
• = Electron density in the lower valley
• = Electron density in the upper valley
• is the electron density
Current versus field characteristics of a two valley semiconductor
According to RWH theory, in order to exhibit negative
resistance the energy band structure of semiconductor
should satisfy

• The energy difference between two valleys must be

several times larger than the thermal energy (KT ~
0.0259eV).

• The energy difference between the valleys must be

smaller than the band gap energy (Eg).

• Electron in lower valley must have a higher mobility

and smaller effective mass than that of in upper valley
• From
  electric field theory the magnitude of the
current density in a semiconductor is given by
 Formation of high field domain
• A decrease in drift velocity with increasing in electric
field can lead to the formation of a high field domain
for microwave generation and amplification.

Drift velocity of electrons in n-type GaAs versus electric field

Formation of high field domain
• In GaAs, at electric
fields exceeding
the critical value of
Ec ≈ 3.2 kV/cm the
differential
mobility is –ve.

• When the field

exceeds Ec and
further increases,
the electron drift
velocity decreases.
Formation of an electron accumulation layer in GaAS
Formation of an electron dipole layer in GaAs
High Field Domain Properties
High Field Domain Properties
 Modes of Operation
 Gunn Oscillation Mode:
• (f x L) = 107 cm/s and (n x L) > 1012 /cm2
• Cyclic formation of High field domain
 Stable Amplification Mode:
• (f x L) = 107 cm/s and 1011/cm2 < (n x L) >1012/cm2
 LSA Oscillation Mode:
• (f x L) >107 cm/s and 2 x 104 < (n/f) > 2 X105/cm2
 Bias-circuit Oscillation Mode:
• (f x L) is small. When E=Eth current falls as Gunn
oscillation begins, leads to oscillation in bias circuit
(1KHz to 100MHz).
 Gunn Oscillation Mode
 Frequency of oscillation = vdom/Leff.

Where vdom =domain velocity

Leff = effective length that the domain travels from the time it is
formed until the time that a new domain begins to form
 Gunn diode with a resistive circuit -> Voltage change across
diode is constant-> Period of oscillation is the time required
for the domain to drift from the cathode to anode.
 The sustaining drift velocity is 107 cm/s
 Not suitable for microwave applications because of low
efficiency.
 • There are three domain modes for Gunn
oscillation modes.
1. Transit time domain mode, (Gunn mode)

Oscillation period = Transit time

High Field domain is stable

Because the current is collected when the

domain arrives at the anode.
2. Delayed domain mode (Inhibited Mode)

• Here domain is collected while

• New domain cannot form until E rises above
threshold again.

• Efficiency: 20%
3. Quenched domain mode:

• If bias field drops below Es, the domain collapses

before it reaches anode.
• When the bias field swings above Eth, a new
domain starts and process repeats.
• Frequency of oscillation is determined by resonant
circuit.
• Efficiency : 13%
• Stable Amplification Mode:
• Device exhibits amplification at the transit time frequency rather
than spontaneous oscillation.
• This occurs because the negative conductance is utilized without
domain formation.
• There are too few carriers for domain formation within the transit
time.
• Therefore amplification of signals near the transit time frequency
can be accomplished.
Modes of operation of Gunn Oscillators
• Limited Space charge Accumulation Mode
(LSA)

Most Important mode for Gunn oscillator.

Domain is not allowed to form.
Efficiency : 20%
 Gunn Characteristics
• Power: 1W (Between 4GHz and 16GHz)
• Gain Bandwidth product : >10dB
• Average gain : 1 – 12 dB
• Noise figure : 15 dB
 Applications of Gunn Diode
• In radar transmitters
• Air traffic control (ATC) and Industrial
Telemetry
• Broadband linear amplifier
• Fast combinational and sequential logic circuit
• Low and medium power oscillators in
microwave receivers
• As pump sources
• LSA Diodes:
• noL ˃ 1012/cm2 and 2 x 104 < (no/f) > 2 X105/cm3

• The magnitude of RF voltage must be large enough to drive the diode below

threshold during each cycle in order to dissipate space charge.

• The portion of each cycle during which RF voltage is above threshold must

be short enough to prevent the domain formation and space charge

accumulation.

• Only the primary accumulation layer forms near the cathode, the rest of the

sample remains fairly homogeneous.

• Thus with the limited space charge formation the remainder of the sample

appears as a series negative resistance that increases the frequency of

oscillations in the resonant circuit.

• The power output of an LSA oscillator is
InP Diode
Peak to valley current ratio
 Microwave Generation

Electric field versus drift velocity

• If the applied field is less than the threshold, the specimen is
stable.
• If the field is greater than threshold, the sample is unstable and
divides up into two domains of different conductivity and
different electric field but the same drift velocity.
• At the initial formation of the accumulation layer, the field behind
the layer decreases and the field in front of it increases.
• This process continues as the layer travels from the cathode
toward the anode.
• As the layer approaches the anode, the field behind it begin to
increase again; and after the layer is collected by anode, the field
in the whole sample is higher than threshold.
• When the high field domain disappears at the anode, a new dipole
field starts forming again at the cathode and the process repeats
itself.
• The current density is proportional to the drift velocity of
electrons.
 Microwave Amplification

Gunn Diode Amplifier Circuit

••  When the RF signal is applied to a Gunn Oscillator, amplification of the
signal occurs, provided that the signal frequency is low enough to allow
the space charge in the domain to readjust itself.
• Below this frequency limit the sample presents an impedance with a
negative real part that can be utilized for amplification.
• If becomes less than / cm2, domain formation is inhibited and the device
exhibits a non uniform field distribution that is stable with time and space.
• Such a diode can amplify signals in the vicinity of the transit time
frequency and its harmonics without oscillation.
• Because of the presence of high field domains, this amplifier is called
Travelling Domain Amplifier (TDA).
Gunn Diode Amplifier Performance