Negative resistance in p-n junctions under avalanche breakdown conditions, part I

Abstract

A one-dimensional, small-signal analysis of the space-charge region of a p-n junction in which avalanche occurs uniformly is presented. The impedance is found to have a negative real part. The impedance is Well represented by a parallel connection of the depletion layer capacitance, an inductance, and a negative resistance. The admittance of the latter two is proportional to the bias current. The magnitude of the negative <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Q</tex> is below ten. The negative resistance is due to an intrinsic instability in the avalanching electron-hole plasma. A discussion of the instability and a traveling-wave tube-like amplification is given.