Figure 1. I-V characteristics of InGaAs PIN diode.
Graduate Students:
Egor Alekseev
Professor
Dimitris Pavlidis
US Army Research Office DAAL-03-87-K-0007 and Daimler Benz
Microwave monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs) for phase and amplitude control at W-band frequencies are used in many systems, such as trasmitter-receiver models for commercial (auto-industry), military and space applications.
These have traditionally made use of Si-based hybrid PIN diodes and more recently hybrid and monolithic GaAs PIN diodes as switching elements. Monolithic approach is an area of active research because it offers higher frequency capabilities and integration with the active devices. The InGaAs PIN diodes can be easily integrated with InP-based high frequency electronics, as the layer structure of PIN diodes is similar to Base/Collector/Subcollector layers of heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Low turn-on voltages make InGaAs PIN diodes very important for current limiting applications in InGaAs/InP based MMICs.
The project addresses the optimization of InGaAs/InP PIN diodes for improved frequency characteristics and their application to the realization of switching MMICs at W-band and above.
