Microwave Semiconductor

devices
Tunnel Diode
● Also called as Esaki diode

● A heavily doped p–n junction diode

● Doping level ≈ 10¹⁹ – 10²⁰ carriers/cm³

● Depletion region extremely thin (~10 nm)

Working Principle – Quantum Mechanical Tunneling

Because of very heavy doping:

● Depletion layer becomes very thin

● Electrons can tunnel through the barrier even at low

voltage
 V–I Characteristics & Negative Resistance

The V–I curve has three regions:

1. Forward Bias (Low Voltage Region)

○ Electrons tunnel from conduction band (n-side) to valence band (p-side)

○ Current increases rapidly → reaches Peak Current (Ip) at Peak Voltage

(Vp)

2. Negative Resistance Region

○ Further increase in voltage reduces tunneling probability

○ Current decreases with increase in voltage

○ Region between Vp and Vv (Valley voltage)

○ This is called Negative Differential Resistance (NDR)

rd=dV/dI<0

3. Normal Diode Region

○ After valley point, behaves like ordinary diode

Band Theory Tunnel diode

Applications
Forward Bias
● Microwave oscillators
● Bands align such that electrons tunnel directly across
junction ● High-speed switching

● Maximum tunneling at peak point

● After peak, alignment reduces → current decreases

Reverse Bias

● Tunneling also occurs in reverse direction

● High reverse current at small reverse voltage

Schottky diode
Features
Structure
● Majority carrier device
● Formed by Metal–Semiconductor junction (not p–n) ● Very low forward voltage (0.2–0.3 V)
● typically using metals like gold, platinum, or tungsten ● Fast switching
on n-type silicon or GaAs ● Low junction capacitance

Working

● Current due to thermionic emission

● Barrier formed at metal-semiconductor interface

Applications

● Microwave mixers

● Detectors

● Fast rectifiers
Because majority carriers dominate conduction, there is no minority carrier storage, giving them extremely fast switching and very
low forward voltage drop (~0.2–0.4V). At microwave frequencies, their low junction capacitance and high cutoff frequency make them
ideal for:

● Mixers and detectors (up to millimeter-wave bands)

● RF power rectifiers
● Frequency multipliers
● High-speed switches

The figure of merit is the cutoff frequency fc = 1/(2πRsC j), where Rs is series resistance and Cj is junction capacitance.
Point contact diode
● A point contact diode is a type of semiconductor diode formed by pressing a
metal wire (the "cat's whisker") against an N-type germanium or silicon wafer,
creating a tiny contact area.
● Due to this small junction, it has very low capacitance and fast switching,
making it ideal for high-frequency applications like microwave detectors, RF Applications:
mixers, and signal demodulation.

● Signal Detectors: Used as video detectors in

➤ Structure
television and as envelope detectors in radio
● Fine metal wire pressed against semiconductor crystal

● Very small contact area receivers.

Components & Operation: ● Microwave Circuits: Commonly used for frequency

● Cat's Whisker: The metallic wire (often tungsten or phosphorus bronze) forming conversion and mixing in microwave equipment.
the anode.
● Rectifiers: Used in high-frequency/high-speed
● N-type Crystal: The base semiconductor (usually Germanium) forming the
cathode. rectification, though not suited for high-power
● Formation: A high current is passed during manufacturing to create a small
P-type region around the wire contact on the N-type base. applications.
Varactor diode
Working Principle

● Operated in reverse bias

● Acts as voltage-controlled capacitor

Cj=εA/W

Where:

● W = depletion width

● Increasing reverse voltage → W increases → Capacitance decreases

➤ Applications

● Electronic tuning (TV, radio)

● Frequency modulation

● Voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO)

IMPATT diode
Impact Ionization Avalanche Transit Time Working Principle

● The diode operates in the avalanche breakdown region, where

● High-power semiconductor device used as an oscillator or high-energy electrons (impact ionization) produce electron-hole pairs.
amplifier in microwave applications, such as radar and ● The time it takes for these carriers to cross the drift region (transit time)
telecommunications.
creates a phase shift between voltage and current, resulting in negative
● It operates under reverse bias, utilizing
resistance.
○ avalanche breakdown to generate high-current
carrier multiplication,
○ transit-time delay creating negative resistance.
Negative Resistance

Structure ● Due to delay between avalanche generation and carrier transit

● p+–n–n+ or n+–p–p+ structure ● RF current lags voltage → power generation

● High reverse bias operation Applications

● Radar transmitters

● Microwave generators

● Local oscillators
TRAPATT diode-TRApped Plasma Avalanche Triggered Transit
Principle of Operation
● The TRAPATT diode is a high-efficiency microwave
● High current density pulse generator operating from hundreds of MHz to
● Avalanche creates dense plasma several GHz, derived from the IMPATT diode.
● Plasma temporarily trapped ● It uses a p+n+n+ or n+p+p+ structure to generate
● Sudden collapse produces microwave oscillation a trapped plasma of electrons and holes within
the depletion region, allowing high peak power
Performance

● Higher efficiency than IMPATT 20% – 40%

● Lower frequency range

● Noisier than Gunn diode

➤ Applications

● Pulsed radar

● Microwave transmitters