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TheGunndiodeismostcommonlyusedforgeneratingmicrowaveRF
TheGunndiodemayalsobeusedforanamplifier.
AsGunndiodesareeasytouse,theyformarelativelylowcostmethodforgenerating
microwaveRFsignals.

Gunndiodebasics
ItdoesnotcontainaPNdiodejunction.
TheGunndiodeortransferredelectrondevicecanbetermedadiodebecauseitdoeshave
twoelectrodes.
TheGunndiodeoperationdependsonthefactthatithasavoltagecontrollednegative
resistance.

Gunndiodeconstruction
Gunndiodesarefabricatedfromasinglepieceofntypesemiconductor.
ThemostcommonmaterialsaregalliumArsenide,GaAsandIndiumPhosphide,InP.
HoweverothermaterialsincludingGe,CdTe,InAs,InSb,ZnSeandothershavebeenused.
Thedeviceissimplyanntypebarwithn+contacts.
Itisnecessarytousentypematerialbecausethetransferredelectroneffectisonlyapplicable
toelectronsandnotholesfoundinaptypematerial.
Withinthedevicetherearethreemainareas,whichcanberoughlytermedthetop,middle
andbottomareas.
ThemostcommonmethodofmanufacturingaGunndiodeistogrowandepitaxiallayerona
degeneraten+substrate.
Theactiveregionisbetweenafewmicronsandafewhundredmicronthick.
14 3
16 3
Thisactivelayerhasadopinglevelbetween10
cm
and10
cm
thisisconsiderablyless
thanthatusedforthetopandbottomareasofthedevice.

Thethicknesswillvaryaccordingtothefrequencyrequired.
Thetopn+layercanbedepositedepitaxiallyordopedusingionimplantation.
Bothtopandbottomareasofthedeviceareheavilydopedtogiven+material.
Thisprovidestherequiredhighconductivityareasthatareneededfortheconnectionstothe
device.

Devicesarenormallymountedonaconductingbasetowhichawireconnectionismade.
Thebasealsoactsasaheatsinkwhichiscriticalfortheremovalofheat.
Theconnectiontotheotherterminalofthediodeismadeviaagoldconnectiondeposited
ontothetopsurface.
Goldisrequiredbecauseofitsrelativestabilityandhighconductivity.
TheGunndiodeisnotlikeatypicalPNjunctiondiode.Ratherthanhavingbothptypeand
ntypesemiconductor,itonlyutilisesntypesemiconductorwhereelectronsarethemajority
carriers.
TheGunndiodeoperationdependsupontheverythinactiveregionforitsoperation,itforms
anideallowpowermicrowaveRFoscillator,althoughitmayalsobeusedasanRFamplifier
aswell.

Gunndiodeoperationbasics
TheoperationoftheGunndiodecanbeexplainedinbasicterms.Whenavoltageisplaced
acrossthedevice,mostofthevoltageappearsacrosstheinneractiveregion.Asthisis
particularlythinthismeansthatthevoltagegradientthatexistsinthisregionisexceedingly
high.
ThedeviceexhibitsanegativeresistanceregiononitsV/Icurveasseenbelow.Thisnegative
resistanceareaenablestheGunndiodetoamplifysignals.Thiscanbeusedbothinamplifiers
andoscillators.HoweverGunndiodeoscillatorsarethemostcommonlyfound.

Gunndiodecharacteristic
Thisnegativeresistanceregionmeansthatthecurrentflowindiodeincreasesinthenegative
resistanceregionwhenthevoltagefallstheinverseofthenormaleffectinanyotherpositive
resistanceelement.ThisphasereversalenablestheGunndiodetoactasanamplifierand
oscillator.

Gunndiodeoperationatmicrowavefrequencies
Atmicrowavefrequencies,itisfoundthatthedynamicactionofthediodeincorporates
elementsresultingfromthethicknessoftheactiveregion.Whenthevoltageacrosstheactive
regionreachesacertainpointacurrentisinitiatedandtravelsacrosstheactiveregion.During
thetimewhenthecurrentpulseismovingacrosstheactiveregionthepotentialgradientfalls

preventinganyfurtherpulsesfromforming.Onlywhenthepulsehasreachedthefarsideof
theactiveregionwillthepotentialgradientrise,allowingthenextpulsetobecreated.
Itcanbeseenthatthetimetakenforthecurrentpulsetotraversetheactiveregionlargely
determinestherateatwhichcurrentpulsesaregenerated,andhenceitdeterminesthe
frequencyofoperation.
Toseehowthisoccurs,itisnecessarytolookattheelectronconcentrationacrosstheactive
region.Undernormalconditionstheconcentrationoffreeelectronswouldbethesame
regardlessofthedistanceacrosstheactivedioderegion.Howeverasmallperturbationmay
occurresultingfromnoisefromthecurrentflow,orevenexternalnoisethisformofnoise
willalwaysbepresentandactsastheseedfortheoscillation.Thisgrowsasitpassesacross
theactiveregionoftheGunndiode.

Gunndiodeoperation
Theincreaseinfreeelectronsinoneareacausethefreeelectronsinanotherareatodecrease
formingaformofwave.Italsoresultsinahigherfieldfortheelectronsinthisregion.This
higherfieldslowsdowntheseelectronsrelativetotheremainder.Asaresulttheregionof
excesselectronswillgrowbecausetheelectronsinthetrailingpatharrivewithahigher
velocity.Similarlytheareadepletedofelectronswillalsogrowbecausetheelectronsslightly
aheadoftheareawithexcesselectronscanmovefaster.Inthisway,moreelectronsenterthe
regionofexcessmakingitlarger,andmoreelectronsleavethedepletedregionbecausethey
toocanmovefaster.Inthiswaytheperturbationincreases.

Gunndiodeoperationelectronsinthepeakmovemoreslowly

Thepeakwilltraverseacrossthediodeundertheactionofthepotentialacrossthediode,and
growingasittraversesthediodeasaresultofthenegativeresistance.
Acluetothereasonforthisunusualactioncanbeseenifthevoltageandcurrentcurvesare
plottedforanormaldiodeandaGunndiode.Foranormaldiodethecurrentincreaseswith
voltage,althoughtherelationshipisnotlinear.OntheotherhandthecurrentforaGunn
diodestartstoincrease,andonceacertainvoltagehasbeenreached,itstartstofallbefore
risingagain.Theregionwhereitfallsisknownasanegativeresistanceregion,andthisisthe
reasonwhyitoscillates
AGunndiodeoscillatorortransferredelectrondeviceoscillatorgenerallyconsistsofadiode
withaDCbiasappliedandatunedcircuit.
TheGunndiodeoscillatorcircuitortransferredelectronoscillatorusesthenegative
resistanceoveraportionoftheV/IcurveoftheGunndiode,combinedwiththetiming
propertieswithinthedevicetoallowtheconstructionofanRFrelaxationoscillator.Whena
suitablecurrentispassedthroughthedeviceitwillstarttooscillator.
ThenegativeresistancecreatedbytheV/Icharacteristicwillcanceloutanyrealresistancein
thecircuitsothatanyoscillationwillbuildupandwillbemaintainedindefinitelywhileDC
isapplied.Theamplitudewillbelimitedbythelimitsofthenegativeresistanceregionofthe
Gunndiode.

Gunndiodecharacteristic

Gunndiodetuning
ThefrequencyofthesignalgeneratedbyaGunndiodeischieflysetbythethicknessofthe
activeregion.Howeveritispossibletoalteritsomewhat.OftenGunndiodesaremountedin
awaveguideandthewholeassemblyformsaresonantcircuit.Asaresultthereareanumber
ofwaysinwhichtheresonantfrequencyoftheassemblycanbealtered.Mechanical
adjustmentscanbemadebyplacinganadjustingscrewintothewaveguidecavityandthese
areusedtogiveacrudemeasureoftuning.

Howeversomeformofelectricaltuningisnormallyrequiredaswell.Itispossibletocouple
avaractordiodeintotheGunnoscillatorcircuit,butchangingthevoltageonthevaractor,and
henceitscapacitance,thefrequencyoftheGunnassemblycanbetrimmed.
AmoreeffectivetuningschemecanbeimplementedusingwhatistermedaYIG.Itgainsits
namefromthefactthatitcontainsaferromagneticmaterialcalledYttriumIronGarnet.The
GunndiodeisplacedintothecavityalongwiththeYIGwhichhastheeffectofreducingthe
effectivesizeofthecavity.Thisisachievedbyplacingacoiloutsidethewaveguide.Whena
currentispassedthroughthecoilithastheeffectofincreasingthemagneticvolumeofthe
YIGandhencereducingtheelectricalsizeofthecavity.Inturnthisincreasesthefrequency
ofoperation.Thisformoftuning,althoughmoreexpensive,producesmuchlowerlevelsof
phasenoise,andthefrequencycanbevariedbyamuchgreaterdegree

http://www.radioelectronics.com/info/data/semicond/impatt/impattdiodes.php
TheIMPATTdiodeortogiveitthecompletename,IMPactionisationAvalancheTransit
TimediodeisanRFsemiconductordevicethatisusedforgeneratingmicrowaveradio
frequencysignals.
Withtheabilitytooperateatfrequenciesbetweenabout3and100GHzormore,oneofthe
mainadvantagesofthismicrowavediodeistherelativelyhighpowercapability(oftenten
wattsandmore)whencomparedtootherformsofmicrowavediode.
TheIMPATTdiodehasmanyadvantages,althoughwithhighlystablefrequencysynthesizers
offeringhighlevelsofperformanceandothersemiconductortechnologiesimproving,in
recentyearsithasbeenusedlesswidely.

Applications
IMPATTdiodesareidealwheresmallcosteffectivemicrowaveradiosourcesareneeded.
ThemaindrawbackofgeneratorsusingIMPATTdiodesisthehighlevelofphasenoisethey
generate.Thisresultsfromthestatisticalnatureoftheavalancheprocessthatiskeytotheir
operation.NeverthelessthesediodesmakeexcellentsignalsourcesformanyRFmicrowave
applications.
Typicallythedeviceisusedinanumberofapplicationsincluding:

Alarms
Radar
Detectors using RF technology

Discovery&development
TheoriginalideaforthediodewasputforwardbyShockleyin1954.Hethoughtoftheidea
ofcreatingnegativeresistanceusingatransittimedelaymechanism.Themethodofinjection
forthecarrierswasaforwardbiasedPNjunction.HepublishedthisintheBellSystems
TechnicalJournalin1954inanitementitled:'Negativeresistancearisingfromtransittimein
semiconductordiodes.'
Howeveritwasnotuntil1958thatW.T.ReadofBellLaboratoriesproposedthep+nin+
diodestructurewhichwaslatercalledtheReaddiode.Thisdiodeusedtheavalanche
multiplicationastheinjectionmechanism.AgainthiswaspublishedintheBellSystems
TechnicalJournalin1958underthetitle:Aproposedhighfrequency,negativeresistance
diode.'
Althoughtheinjectionmechanismanddiodehadbeenpostulated,itwasnotuntil1965that
thefirstpracticaloperatingdiodesweremadethatenabledoscillationstobeobserved.The
diodeusedforthisdemonstrationwasfabricatedusingsiliconandhadap+nstructure.
Afterthis,operationoftheReaddiodewasdemonstratedandthenin1966apindiodewas
alsodemonstratedtowork.

IMPATTbasics
InmanyrespectstheIMPATTdiodeisanunusualdiodeinthatitisabletoprovidehigh
powerRFsignalsatmicrowavefrequenciesusingastructurethatisnotthatfardifferentfrom
thebasicPNjunction.Howeverithasbeendevelopedtoenableitsdifferentmodeof
operationtobeutilisedproperly.

Theory &operation:The IMPATT diode relies upon a negative resistance effect caused by
the transit time of the carriers. This negative resistance enables the diode to act as an
oscillator, creating signals at microwave frequencies.
Read more about the
IMPATT theory
& operation
Fabrication & structure:There are a number of structures and fabrication methods used
for IMPATT diodes. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Read more about
the
IMPATT structure & fabrication

Practicaloperation
ThemainapplicationforIMPATTdiodesisinmicrowavegenerators.Analternatingsignalis
generatedsimplybyapplyingaDCsupplywhenasuitabletunedcircuitisapplied.
Theoutputisreliableandrelativelyhighwhencomparedtootherformsofmicrowavediode.
Inviewofitshighlevelsofphasenoiseitisusedintransmittersmorefrequentlythanasa
localoscillatorinreceiverswherethephasenoiseperformanceisgenerallymoreimportant.It
isalsousedinapplicationswherephasenoiseperformanceisunlikelytobeofimportance.
TorunanIMPATTdiode,arelativelyhighvoltage,oftenashighas70voltsorhighermay
berequired.Thisoftenlimitstheirapplicationasvoltagesofthisorderarenotalwayseasyto
useinsomepiecesofequipment.NeverthelessIMPATTdiodesareparticularlyattractive
optionformicrowavediodesformanyareas
WhilemuchofthestructureoftheIMPATTdiodeissimilartoastandardSchottkyorPIN
diodeinitsbasicoutline,thetheoryandmethodofoperationareverydifferent.
Thediodeutilisesavalanchebreakdowncombinedwiththetransittimesofthecharge
carrierstoenableittoprovideanegativeresistanceregionandthereforeactasanoscillator.
Asthenatureoftheavalanchebreakdownisverynoisy,andsignalscreatedbyanIMPATT
diodehavehighlevelsofphasenoise.

IMPATTdiodetheorybasics
Likeanyotherdiode,anIMPATThasarelativelystandardIVcharacteristic.Intheforward
directionitwillconductafterithasreachedtheforwardconductionpoint.Inthereverse
directionitwillblockcurrent.

Howeveratacertainvoltagethediodewillbreakdownandcurrentwillflowinthereverse
direction.

GraphicalrepresentationoftheIMPATTdiodeIVcharacteristic
TheIMPATTdiodeisoperatedunderreversebiasconditions.Thesearesetsothatavalanche
breakdownoccurs.ThisoccursintheregionveryclosetotheP+(i.e.heavilydopedP
region).Theelectricfieldatthepnjunctionisveryhighbecausethevoltageappearsacrossa
verynarrowgapcreatingahighpotentialgradient.Underthesecircumstancesanycarriers
areacceleratedveryquickly.
Asaresulttheycollidewiththecrystallatticeandfreeothercarriers.Thesenewlyfreed
carriersaresimilarlyacceleratedandcollidewiththecrystallatticefreeingmorecarriers.
Thisprocessgivesrisetowhatistermedavalanchebreakdownasthenumberofcarriers
multipliesveryquickly.Forthistypeofbreakdownonlyoccurswhenacertainvoltageis
appliedtothejunction.Belowthisthepotentialdoesnotacceleratethecarrierssufficiently.
IntermsofitsoperationtheIMPATTdiodecanbeconsideredtoconsistoftwoareas,namely
theavalancheregionorinjectionregion,andsecondlythedriftregion.
Thesetwoareasprovidedifferentfunctions.Theavalancheorinjectionregioncreatesthe
carrierswhichmaybeeitherholesofelectrons,andthedriftregioniswherethecarriers
moveacrossthediodetakingacertainamountoftimedependentuponitsthickness.
Thetwotypesofcarrierdriftinoppositedirections.


ChargecarriermovementwithinanIMPATTdiode

IMPATTdiodeoperation
Oncethecarriershavebeengeneratedthedevicereliesonnegativeresistancetogenerateand
sustainanoscillation.TheeffectdoesnotoccurinthedeviceatDC,butinstead,hereitisan
ACeffectthatisbroughtaboutbyphasedifferencesthatareseenatthefrequencyof
operation.WhenanACsignalisappliedthecurrentpeaksarefoundtobe180outofphase
withthevoltage.Thisresultsfromtwodelayswhichoccurinthedevice:injectiondelay,and
atransittimedelayasthecurrentcarriersmigrateordriftacrossthedevice.

IMPATTdiodevoltage&currentwaveforms
ThevoltageappliedtotheIMPATTdiodehasameanvaluewhereitisonthevergeof
avalanchebreakdown.Thevoltagevariesasasinewave,butthegenerationofcarriersdoes

notoccurinunisonwiththevoltagevariations.Itmightbeexpectedthatitwouldoccuratthe
peakvoltage.Thisarisesbecausethegenerationofcarriersisnotonlyafunctionofthe
electricfieldbutalsothenumberofcarriersalreadyinexistence.
Astheelectricfieldincreasessodoesthenumberofcarriers.Thenevenafterthefieldhas
reacheditspeakthenumberofcarriersstillcontinuestogrowasaresultofthenumberof
carriersalreadyinexistence.Thiscontinuesuntilthefieldfallstobelowacriticalvaluewhen
thenumberofcarriersstartstofall.Asaresultofthiseffectthereisaphaselagsothatthe
currentisabout90behindthevoltage.Thisisknownastheinjectionphasedelay.
WhentheelectronsmoveacrosstheN+regionanexternalcurrentisseen,andthisoccursin
peaks,resultinginarepetitivewaveform.

IMPATTcircuits
IMPATTdiodesaregenerallyusedatfrequenciesabovearound3GHz.Itisfoundthatwhen
atunedcircuitisappliedalongwithavoltagearoundthebreakdownvoltagetotheIMPATT,
andoscillationwilloccur.
Comparedtootherdevicesthatusenegativeresistanceandareavailableforoperationat
thesefrequencies,theIMPATTisabletoproducemuchhigherlevelsofpower.Typically
figuresoftenormorewattsmaybeobtained,dependentuponthedevice.
OneofthemaindrawbacksoftheIMPATTdiodeinitsoperationisthegenerationofhigh
levelsofphasenoiseasaresultoftheavalanchebreakdownmechanism.Itisfoundthe
devicesbasedaroundGalliumArsenidetechnologyaremuchbetterthanthoseusingSilicon.
Thisresultsfromthemuchcloserionisationcoefficientsforholesandelectrons
Inmanyrespects,theIMPATTdiodestructureisverysimilartothatofmanyotherformsof
diode,andinparticularthestandardPNjunctiondiodeortheSchottkydiode.
Howeverthedifferencesinitsconstructionandfabricationmeanthatitisabletooperatein
itsavalanchemodewhetherthetransittimeprovidesthenegativeresistance.

IMPATTdiodeconstruction
ThereisavarietyofstructuresthatareusedfortheIMPATTdiode.Allarevariationsofa
basicPNjunctionandusuallythereisanintrinsiclayer,i.e.alayerwithoutanydopingthatis
placedbetweenthePtypeandNtyperegions.
ThestructuresuseaPNjunctionwhichisreversebiasedsothatavalanchemultiplication
occurswithinthehighfieldregion.InmoststructuresaSchottkybarriercanbeusedasthe
injectingjunction.

ThemostcommonmethodoffabricatinganIMPATTdiodeistouseaverticalstructure
wherethereisverticalcurrentflow.
.

IMPATTdiodeverticalstructure
Forthisformatofdiode,thelayersaregenerallygrownepitaxially.Whereveryhigh
frequencydevicesaretobemadelayerscanbecomeverythin.Fortheselayers,techniques
includingMBE,molecularbeamepitaxy,orMOCVD,metalloorganicchemicalvapour
depositioncanbeused.
ForatypicalReaddiodethenlayermaybeonly1to2mthick,andtheintrinsiclayermay
bebetween2and20mthick.Forveryhighfrequencyoperation,thesedimensionsare
reduced.
Thedopantsneededforthedifferentlayersmaybeintroducedusingoneofanumberof
techniquesincludingdiffusion,ionimplantationoreveninsitudopingduringtheepitaxial
growthprocessforagivenlayer.
Apartfromtheverticalormesafabrication,ahorizontalstructuremayalsobeusedusing
moretraditionalplanartechnology.

IMPATTdiodehorizontalstructure

Packaging
Thedevicesarenormallyusedasmicrowavepowersourcesandasaresult,heatdissipationis
akeyissue.Asaresultthedevicesaremountedintopackageswheretheheatcanbe

transferredawayfromtheactiveareasofthedevicesasfastaspossible.Tothisend,the
devicesareoftenmountedinwhatmaybetermedanupsidedownfashionwheretheactive
layersareclosesttotheheatsinkingprovidedbythepackage.
Oftenthepackageiscoaxialinformatsothatthecorrecttransmissionlinepropertiesare
presentedtotheRFsignalwhichmaybeatmanytensofGHz.Asaresultthepackageis
oftenquiteintricateandaccordinglyveryexpensive,especiallywhenveryhighfrequencies
areused.
ThemostcommonlyusedmaterialsforIMPATTdevicesareSiliconandGalliumArsenide,
butothermaterialsincludingGermanium,andIndiumPhosphideorGalliumAluminium
Arsenidemayalsobeused.

Electricfieldprofiles
OnemajorelementofthestructureofanIMPATTdiodeisthewayinwhichtheelectricfield
profileoccurs.Thediagrambelowshowstheelectricfieldprofileanalsotheareasofhighest
electricfieldrepresentedbythegreyareasshowwheretheavalanchebreakdownoccurs.

ElectricfieldprofilesforcommonIMPATTdiodestructures
Thediagramshowsthemaintypesofavalanchediode.Thep+n,in+diode(leftmostonthe
diagram)istheReaddiodeandtherightmostdiodestructure,p+in+isalsoknownasthe
Misawadiode.

TRAPATT Diode Tutorial

TheTRAPATTorTRApped,PlasmaAvalancheTriggeredTransitdiodebelongstothesame
basicfamilyastheIMPATTdiode.
HowevertheTRAPATThasanumberofadvantagesandasaresultitisusedinanumberof
applications.
EssentiallytheTRAPATTnormallyusedasamicrowaveoscillator,buthastheadvantageof
agreaterlevelofefficiencytypicallytheDCtoRFsignalconversionefficiencymaybein
theregionof.20to60%.

TRAPATTbasics
TheTRAPATTdiodeisbasedaroundtheinitialconceptoftheIMPATT.Howeverforthe
TRAPATT,thedopinglevelbetweenthejunctionandtheanode.
Typicallytheconstructionofthedeviceconsistsofap+nn+,althoughwhereforhigher
powerlevelsann+pp+structureisbetter.
ForoperationtheTRAPATTisexcitedusingacurrentpulsewhichcausestheelectricfieldto
increasetoacriticalvaluewhereavalanchemultiplicationoccurs.Atthispointthefield
collapseslocallyduetothegeneratedplasma.
Theseparationanddriftoftheelectronsandholesarethendrivenbyaverymuchsmaller
field.Itvirtuallyappearsthattheyhavebeen'trapped'behindwithavelocitysmallerthanthe
saturationvelocity.Aftertheplasmaspreadsacrossthewholeactiveregion,theholesand
electronsbegintodrifttotheoppositeterminalsandthentheelectricfieldbeginstorise
again.

DiagrammaticTRAPATTdiodestructure

ThecriterionforoperationinTRAPATToperationisthattheavalanchefrontadvancesfasrer
thanthesaturationvelocityofthecarriers.Ingeneralitexceedsthesaturationvaluebya
factorofaroundthree.
TheTRAPATTmodedoesnotdependupontheinjectionphasedelay.
AlthoughtheTRAPATTdiodeprovidesamuchhigherlevelofefficiencythantheIMPATT,
itsmajordisadvantageisthatthenoiselevelsonthesignalareevenhigherthantheyare
whenusinganIMPATT.Abalanceneedstobemadeaccordingtotheapplicationrequired.