The Gunn-Hilsum Effect

The Gunn-Hilsum Effect
Author: Melvin Shaw
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2012-12-02
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0323141552

The Gunn-Hilsum Effect covers the physical principles controlling the operation of transferred electron devices. These devices have been proven quite useful in the generation, amplification, and processing of microwave signals well into tens of gigahertz range. Organized into seven chapters, the book focuses on the analytical and numerical approaches of the two vital aspects of device behavior for a given bulk semiconductor: boundary conditions or contacts and the local circuit environment. The opening chapter of this book discusses the negative differential mobility (NDM) characteristics for a range of electric fields in the velocity-field relation of specific semiconductors and the response of such a sample to a charge fluctuation, leading to the growth of stationary and/or traveling high electric field domains. The next two chapters describe how the boundary conditions and the circuit control the manifestation of current instabilities in such systems and how this control can be understood in a simple manner. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the numerical and experimental investigations of comparatively long bulk samples, with an emphasis on the essential NDM semiconductor n-GaAs. These chapters also examine the production of different current-voltage relationships and instabilities by cathode contacts and the control of the oscillatory characteristics of an electrically unstable sample by different circuit conditions. Chapter 6 presents both time-independent and time-dependent computations, with the latter focusing on the small-signal impedance and stability aspects. The last chapter of this book addresses the construction and evaluation of typical short devices, describes how their oscillatory characteristics compare with the long samples studied in the first six chapters, and discusses the use of short devices as amplifiers. This book is an ideal source for device engineers and designers wishing to apply transferred electron devices in creative ways.

The Physics of Instabilities in Solid State Electron Devices

The Physics of Instabilities in Solid State Electron Devices
Author: Harold L. Grubin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1489923446

The past three decades have been a period where useful current and voltage instabilities in solids have progressed from exciting research problems to a wide variety of commercially available devices. Materials and electronics research has led to devices such as the tunnel (Esaki) diode, transferred electron (Gunn) diode, avalanche diodes, real-space transfer devices, and the like. These structures have proven to be very important in the generation, amplification, switching, and processing of microwave signals up to frequencies exceeding 100 GHz. In this treatise we focus on a detailed theoretical understanding of devices of the kind that can be made unstable against circuit oscillations, large amplitude switching events, and in some cases, internal rearrangement of the electric field or current density distribution. The book is aimed at the semiconductor device physicist, engineer, and graduate student. A knowledge of solid state physics on an elementary or introductory level is assumed. Furthermore, we have geared the book to device engineers and physicists desirous of obtaining an understanding substantially deeper than that associated with a small signal equivalent circuit approach. We focus on both analytical and numerical treatment of specific device problems, concerning ourselves with the mechanism that determines the constitutive relation governing the device, the boundary conditions (contact effects), and the effect of the local circuit environment.

GaAs Devices and Circuits

GaAs Devices and Circuits
Author: Michael S. Shur
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 677
Release: 2013-11-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1489919899

GaAs devices and integrated circuits have emerged as leading contenders for ultra-high-speed applications. This book is intended to be a reference for a rapidly growing GaAs community of researchers and graduate students. It was written over several years and parts of it were used for courses on GaAs devices and integrated circuits and on heterojunction GaAs devices developed and taught at the University of Minnesota. Many people helped me in writing this book. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Lester Eastman of Cornell University, whose ideas and thoughts inspired me and helped to determine the direction of my research work for many years. I also benefited from numerous discussions with his students and associates and from the very atmosphere of the pursuit of excellence which exists in his group. I would like to thank my former and present co-workers and colleagues-Drs. Levinstein and Gelmont of the A. F. Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology, Professor Melvin Shaw of Wayne State University, Dr. Kastalsky of Bell Communi cations, Professor Gary Robinson of Colorado State University, Professor Tony Valois, and Dr. Tim Drummond of Sandia Labs-for their contributions to our joint research and for valuable discussions. My special thanks to Professor Morko.;, for his help, his ideas, and the example set by his pioneering work. Since 1978 I have been working with engineers from Honeywell, Inc.-Drs.

Breakdown Phenomena In Semiconductors And Semiconductor Devices

Breakdown Phenomena In Semiconductors And Semiconductor Devices
Author: Michael E Levinshtein
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2005-09-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9814479926

Impact ionization, avalanche and breakdown phenomena form the basis of many very interesting and important semiconductor devices, such as avalanche photodiodes, avalanche transistors, suppressors, sharpening diodes (diodes with delayed breakdown), as well as IMPATT and TRAPATT diodes. In order to provide maximal speed and power, many semiconductor devices must operate under or very close to breakdown conditions. Consequently, an acquaintance with breakdown phenomena is essential for scientists or engineers dealing with semiconductor devices.The aim of this book is to summarize the main experimental results on avalanche and breakdown phenomena in semiconductors and semiconductor devices and to analyze their features from a unified point of view. Attention is focused on the phenomenology of avalanche multiplication and the various kinds of breakdown phenomena and their qualitative analysis.

Concise Handbook of Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Concise Handbook of Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Author: VK Khanna
Publisher: S. Chand Publishing
Total Pages: 719
Release: 1997
Genre: Science
ISBN: 8121923190

The Primary Goal of this hand book is to provied in a simple and way,a concise and coherent presentation of the core material ,namely,the key terminology,fundamental concepts,principles,laws,facts,figures,formulase,mathematical methods and applications of electrical and electronics engineering.A necessary corollary objective of this handbook is to prepare the reader for specialist literature.The material presented in this handbook is intended to serve as a plateform from where the reader can launch to an exploration of specialised field of interest.

Hot Carriers in Semiconductors

Hot Carriers in Semiconductors
Author: J. Shah
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 148328686X

A comprehensive account of the latest developments in the rapidly expanding area of Semiconductor Technology. Main topics covered include real space transfer/heterostructures, ultrafast studies, optical studies, transport theory, devices, ballistic transport, scattering processes and hot phonons, tunnelling, far infrared and magnetic field studies and impact ionization/noise/chaos. Other aspects include the use of femtosecond lasers in investigating transient hot carrier effects on femtosecond timescales, magnetotransport and carrier-carrier interactions.