Analysis of punch-through-injection for a transit-time negative resistance diode†

Abstract

The non-linearity of the punch-through-injection characteristic is used for the realization of a transit-time microwave oscillator diode. By modulating the height of a potential barrier situated at one end of the drift region of the device, a sharp injection of charge is effected periodically, but without the multiplication noise inherent in the operation of the avalanche transit-time diode. The injected charge, including the effect of mobile space-charge, and the resulting external circuit current, are analysed numerically, using a simplified three-layer silicon PNP structure. It is shown that it is possible to achieve efficiencies of the order of 10%.