Experimental and Simulated Results of SiC Microwave Power MESFETs

Abstract

A variety of RF and microwave electronic devices can be fabricated from SiC. These SiC-based devices have many properties that make them near ideal for high temperature, high frequency, high power, and radiation hard applications. Progress in SiC bulk and epitaxial layer growth has been rapid in recent years and corresponding progress has been achieved in device fabrication and contact technology. Both 6H- and 4H-SiC substrates are commercially available, and high quality epitaxial layers can be grown. Prototype SiC electronic devices with very good DC and RF performance have been demonstrated and devices such as diodes are commercially available, while RF and high frequency transistors are rapidly approaching the commercialization state. In particular, SiC transistors such as MESFETs (MEtal Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) and SITs (Static Induction Transistors) with excellent DC and RF performance have been demonstrated and these devices are being developed for microwave power amplifier and oscillator applications. One of the most promising devices for microwave power applications is the MESFET. In this work the performance of microwave SiC MESFETs is investigated with a simulator that contains a physically based device model. The simulator permits the operation of the device to be examined and optimum device structures to be determined. This, in turn, permits performance capability and limitations to be investigated. The results of the simulations are compared to experimental measurements where possible, and excellent agreement between the simulated and measured data are obtained.