Electrical Characteristics of MESFETs and HEMTs (eBook)

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Electrotechnology, grade: 9.36, West Bengal University of Technology, course: M.TECH IN ADVANCE COMMUNICATION, language: English, abstract: Advanced developments that were made recently in the field of Silicon (Si) semiconductor technology have allowed it to approach the theoretical limits of the Si material. However there are latest power device requirements for many applications that cannot be handled by the present Si-based power devices. These requirements include such as higher blocking voltages, switching frequencies, efficiency, and reliability. And hence, new semiconductor materials for power device applications are needed to overcome these limitations.

For high power requirements, wide bandgap semiconductors like Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), which are having superior electrical properties, are likely to replace Si in the near future. This Study thesis compares the electrical characteristics of wide-bandgap semiconductors with respect to Silicon (Si) to verify their superior utility for power applications and predicts the future of power device semiconductor materials.

This thesis also includes the study that has been performed regarding the electrical characteristics of high frequency semiconductor devices in terms of I-V characteristics and Noise Power Spectral Density (PSD) Analysis with respect to drain current fluctuation in the semiconductor devices. The semiconductor devices that are used for this particular thesis are – Metal Effect Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFETs) and High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs).