Charge control of the heterojunction two-dimensional electron gas for MESFET application

Abstract

Previous works have shown that a two-dimensional electron gas (2 DEG) is accumulated at the interface of GaAs (n)/AlxGa1-xAs (n) isotype heterojunctions. In this paper, a MESFET structure working with this 2 DEG is presented. Theoretical treatments are given, considering that the charge control results from the interpenetration of the Schottky space-charge region and the accumulation layer. A semi-analytical calculation is then developed: conductance, capacitance, source-to-drain current at saturation, and transconductance are predicted for a large-gate FET. Source-to-drain saturation current in short-gate FET is also given. Experimental results obtained in our laboratory and those recently published are compared to calculated data. The good agreement observed in all cases, including low-temperature measurements, clearly shows that the 2 DEG MESFET behavior is actually valid. The high mobility of electrons One can expect from the 2 DEG, particularly at 77 K, suggests that the 2 DEG MESFET is a promising device for microwave and high-speed devices.