Bell Telephone Laboratories

At&t Bell Laboratories

Stuart H Wemple

William Charles Niehaus

Wolfgang O Schlosser

Legrand G Van Uitert

James Vincent DiLorenzo

James C Hwang

William H Grodkiewicz

Christopher L Allyn

David E Iglesias

Peter G Flahive

III-V semiconductor devices such as, e.g., MESFET, JFET, MOSFET, and IGFET devices are provided with relatively high-ohmic gates or wide gate finger widths as is desirable for maximum utilization of a semiconductor surface. For example, aluminum gate electrodes having a cross-sectional area of 1.2 square micrometer and a length of 300 micrometers or more are used. The resulting devices have unexpectedly high power handling capability.

High-power III-V semiconductor device

GaAs FETs exhibit excellent long-term stability if they have a drain ledge, a drain contact with reduced dendrite size, and a silicon nitride passivation layer. Accelerated aging tests at device case temperatures of 250 degrees C. indicate essentially no device failures after 200 hours of observation and a median failure time of approximately 500 hours.

GaAs FETs Having long-term stability

Power handling capability and gain of metal-semiconductor field effect devices is adversely affected by a phenomenon variously known as gate-drain avalanche or gate breakdown which occurs at elevated gate-drain voltage. Consequently, it is desirable to design devices so as to maximize gate-drain breakdown voltage V.sub.gd consistent with maximum output power capability. According to the invention, such voltage is maximized by a gate-drain configuration which involves approximate equalization of per-unit-area mobile charge in a portion of the active layer under the gate contact and in an adjoining portion between gate and drain contacts. Equalization of charge may be achieved by appropriate doping or appropriate choice of layer thickness, either alone or in combination. In particular, if dopant concentration per unit volume is essentially equal in the two portions, approximate equalization of conducting channel thickness in the two portions is called for. Devices of the invention are capable of higher gain and output power as is desirable in applications such as, e.g., the amplification of microwaves.

Semiconductor device gate-drain configuration

Disclosed are unipolar semiconductor devices such as, e.g., metal-semiconductor field effect transistors. The disclosed devices comprise an n- or p-type active layer on a substrate and a drain contact on the active layer. The active layer comprises two contiguous regions, namely a first, more heavily doped region which is in contact with the drain contact and a second, less heavily doped region which in a direction perpendicular to the active layer extends through the remainder of the active layer. In the disclosed configuration the more heavily doped region extends past the edge of the drain contact towards a source of free carriers such as e.g., a source contact. Devices incorporating such configuration of regions in the active layer are more resistant to burnout and are capable of operating at higher voltage and power levels.

Semiconductor device drain contact configuration

ZnCl.sub.2 optical fibers are advantageously used for transmission of radiation in the infrared portion of the spectrum. Losses as low as 10.sup.-3 dB/km may be obtained when radiation of wavelength between 3.0 and 4.5 microns is transmitted in such fibers. Fabrication techniques allow for the formation of graded fibers to further improve transmission characteristics.

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Chatham Township, NJ, United States of America

Stuart H Wemple