MODELING GAAs PIN DIODES FOR MICROWAVE

AND MILLIMETER WAVE APPLICATIONS

Robert H. Caverly Nitin

Department of Electrical and Corporate Research and Development
Computer Engineering M/A-COM, Inc.
Univ. Massachusetts Dartmouth 100 Chelmiford Street
North Dartmouth, MA USA 02747 Lowell, MA USA 01853

Abstract
The need to keep system development cost low has given important emphasis to using well-defined
solid-state component models in design and simulation of systems. This paper presents a new
model for predicting the impedance of monolithic GaAs PIN diodes at microwave and millimeter
wave frequencies.

Introduction
The market for microwave and millimeter wave systems for applications such as IVHS and PCN
has increased the need for low cost, high frequency solid-state components. Ihe need to keep
system development cost low in this competitive environment has given important emphasis to
using well-defined solid-state component models in design and simulation of systems prior to
fabrication and production. GaAs PIN diodes are one of a number of devices used extensively in
these products.
Microwave and millimeter wave applications usually require that GaAs PIN diodes be of small
geometry, typically tens of microns i diameter and I-region thicknesses of only a few microns. A
study was undertaken to identify the factors influencing GaAs PIN diode impedance because a
senes of fabricated devices exhibited variations in forward bias impedance as a function of
frequency (out to beyond X-band) and diode diameter (see Figure 1). This study focused on
modeling not only the impedance versus frequency response, but also the observed dependence of
the diode impedance on device geometry. A result of this effort was the development of an efficient
method to predict the frequency and geometry dependence of the impedance of GaAs PIN diodes.
The models were verified experimentally.

Diameter-Dependence on GaAs PIN Diode Impedance

The classical expression for the high frequency PIN diode resistance shows that this resistance is
inversely proportional to the I-region effective carrier lifetime (ff) [1]:

&S =-W 2pI0-r (1)

1622
Ibis simple expression, however, does not describe the impedance-frequency variations, nor does it
provide insight into the effects of the diode geometry on the effective carrier lifetime. To do so
requires a full analysis of the PIN diode struct. This includes modeling surface state effects,
which serve to reduce the carrier lifetime from its larger bulk value and induce a,complex carier
density structure in the I-region, making the carrier density and lifetime a- stong function of the
geometry (both I-region length and-cross section) of the device. This cafrier density profile
ultimately governs the effective carrier lifetime and resistance of the PIN diode.
The derivation of the I-region carder density profile was caried out in a manner similar to t
described- by Aitchison and Berz [3], and Caverly and Hiller [4,5], with the exception that a
Fourier-Bessel solution to the two dimensional differential equation was used (see Appendix A).
The major assumptions that differ fo previous pedance computations [4,5] were that ininite
surface recombination and constant injection from the heavily doped end regions were assumed.
The contributions from skin effect were neglected. Band to band recombination, an mportant
recombination mechanism in GaAs, was not considered since the effects of surface recombination
were expected to dominate the overall recombination in these devices. The effective carier lifetme
can be computed from the diode's I-region stored charge as [41:
W/2
hif =2cqJ ,fno(x r)rdrdx/Io (2)
-W/2
whee Io is the dc bias current and no-(x,r) is the I-region dc carrier density profile. The resulting
expression for the effective carrier lifetime is shown in Equation AS. Figure 2 shows the variation
of the effective cardier lifetime ratio 'c, / tb4lk versus normalized diode diameter (RAL) and width
(W/L) for GaAs PIN diodes based on this equation. The first three terms of the Fourier-Bessel
series were used in the computations. The results indicate that smaller geometry devices (small W
and R) will display significantly reduced carrier lifetimes due to the reduction in the amount of
stored charge in the I-region. Lower carrier lifetimes tend to drive the impedance of the PIN diode
to higher values, as well as shift the impedance-frequency characteristic to higher frequencies.

The impedance of the PIN diode was calculated ass g the voltage drops are limited to the PI
and IN junctions and the I-region. Each region contributes to the overall PIN diode impedance,
with the junctions dominatig he impedance at low frequencies (much less than t veerse of the
carrier lifetime) and the I-region dominating the,impedance at high frequencies [4,5]. These
assumptions allow straitorward computation of the various impedance components of the PIN
diode [4,5]. Figure 3 shows the results of calculations based on this method. The figure shows the
PIN diode resistance versus normalized radiW (R/L) and normalized I-region width (W/L). The
computations assune a bulk lifetime of one microsecond, a dc bias of 10 mA and a frequency of
1000 MHz. The figure shows a decrease in diode resistance As R/L increases-and W/L decreases.
This variation is primarily due to the increased stored charge mi the I-region of the PIN diode,
which in turn increases the effective cafrier lifetime and decreases the high frequency-resistance.
The reactance variadon shows similar characteristics, with the reactance being prmarily capacifive
over the diode radius and thickness rmnge indicated.

1623
Results: Comparison Between Measured Data and Theory
The new model for the forward bias impedance of the (laAs PIN diode requires knowledge of the
dc bias current, frequency of operation, diode geometry and bulk lifetime (usually on the order of
microseconds). This new model was used to predict the forward bias impedance of a series of
2 micron I-region monolithic GaAs PIN diodes fabricated for microwave- applications; but can be
extended to model most PIN diodes ofeither silicon or gallium arsenide. Figure 4 shows the
measured de-embedded GaAs PIN diode resistance (points) versus frequency and diode diameter
with the model tesults plotted for comparison. An effective I-region thickness of 2 microns ad
bulk carrier lifetime of 1 microsecond were assumed. The data were obtained using an BH-8510
Network Analyzer on a variety of shunt-mounted diodes of diameters ranging from 20 microns to
56 microns. The resistae data were de-embedded from the tansmission lines feeding the diodes,
the bondingstructure fromithe diodes to the tramnsmission lines, and the ground plane connection.
The results illustrated in Figure 4 show reasonably good agreement between the-theory and data.
The differences between the measured ad predicted. impedance can be attributed to uncertainty in
the de-imbedded-contact resistance, the effective bI- region thickness, and possible different surface
conditions than modeled using the procedure described here.
Conclusions
This new model will now allow microwave and millimeter wave circuit designers using GaAs PIN
diodes to be able to completely specify their forward bias impedance characteristics and the effect
the surface has on the PIN diode impedance.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following individuals from M/A-CQM, Ilc., USA: P. Onno
for his help in de-embedding the vast amount of data collected during the project, Y. Yun and M..
Fukuda for their work in dvice fabrication and design, and G. DiPiazza and P. Staeckertfor their
continued support of the work;
References
1. White, J.o Semiconductor Control, Artech flouse, Dedham, MA, 1977.
2. MartinelliR., and A. Rosn, "1The effes of storage time variains on the forward resistance
of silicon P+-I-NNt diodes at microwave frequencies", WEE, Trans. Electron Device$s, vol. ED-
27(9), pp. 1728-1732, Sept. 1980.
3. Aitchison, J. and F. Berz,,"The effect of surface recombination of PI diodes", Solid-State
Electronics, vol. 24(9), pp. 795-804, Sept. 1981.
4. Caverly, R. and G. Hiller, ."The smal signal a.c. impedace of gallium arsenide and silicon p--
n diodes", Solid-State Electronics vol.. 33(10), pp., 12554263, Oct. 1990.
5. Caverly, R. and G. Hiller, "The. frequency dependent impedance,of p-i-n diodes", EE Trans.
Microwave Teory and Techniques, vol. MTT-37(4), pp. 787-790, April. 1989.

1624
 Appendix A
An analysis using the basic semiconductor equations was applied to the PIN diode. The
differential equation is based on a cylindrical coordinate system and is shown in Equation Al:

an(x,r) n(x,r) a2n(x,r) a( an(x,r)

at tbuk ax r ar ar 3 * (A)

The symbols have their usual peanings. A solution based on the Fourier-Bessel series was used,
with boundary conditions consisting of infinite surface recombination and constant current
injection across the diode cross section at each heavily doped end region. The resulting form for
the I-region carrier density can be written as:

nl (x, r) = , AmJo (zmr / rO )[Dpfcosh(YZ) + DE cosh( 32x (A)

m=1

where the subscript of nj indicates either dc (no) or ac (nl) conditions,

2m=l+( )2 9 am= r, L V=
ml+ (Lo9r DV§bilk (the ambipolar diffusion length), DA is the
ambipolar diffusion constant, ro is the radius of the PIN diode, the zm are the mth zeroes of the
zeroth order Bessel function [JO(r)], and the Am are defmed by

Am =-
2n

Jl(zm)[D +DPcosh(W/ym)L (A3)

The parameter nj is computed by integrating the current density over the diode cross section using
the following relationship [3]:

r an(x, r) IX=W/2rdr
I, = 4cqDn J a (A4)

where the subscript of II indicates either dc (To) or ac (I1) conditions. Equations Al through A4
substituted into Equation 2 yield an expression that relates carrier lifetime to bulk lifetime, I-region
thickness (W) and diode radius (ro):

It ' sifnh(W /TYm) ismnh(W / Ym) l+(Lam)2

'b,dk t=1 Z 1 + (Lam)2 (Dn + DP cosh(W / m)) m)) ()

1625
 2.57I
2.31-
2.0

1.8\5

1.3+
1.0+
0.8+
0.5t
0.3
0.3
0.0
1
RESISTANCE (Ohms)

I
..

--
\
.8 ..

WI,.
~ ~40um
Blas Current= 10 mA
w/o Contact Resistance

\
---

FREQUENCY (GHz)
-^-

10

FIGURE 1: Measured resistance (de-embedded) versus frequency of GaAs PIN diodes.

Effective Lifetime
Diode Diameter
20 um

2Bu
~~28 um
Or
- 56-- um
_ _

100
-

H / Effective Carder Lifetime

L-l| P|PIN Diode Radius
vs
V

0.01
0 6 10 15 20 25 30 35
R/L (Normalized Radius)
W/L
- 1.0 2.0 -4- 3.0 8mpbI
- Mod

FIGURE 2. Effective I-region Carrier Lifetime.

The simple model is the analytic model described by Aitchison and Berz [3].

1626
 Resistance (Ohms)
ResistiV4 ;e'Component of
GaAs PIN Diode Impedancoe
10 \

W/L
0.100
0.063
0.1\
0.038
s ~~I
0.01 ~
I.
\^
;0.013

0 6.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

R/L (Normalizied Radius)
Figure 3. Resistance of GaAs PIN diodes versus nprmaiized diode radius (RJL) and dormalized
diode thickness (W(L), where the ambipolar diffusion length L is used a the normalizing factor. A
frequency of 1000 MHz was used in the simulation,.

2.60 L
RESISTANCE (OHMS)
_ --
2.6 Resisfive Charactedtefc
0
2.00 - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2
rMoron l-roon
1 0 mA dc Cuffet
1.76
1.60
1.25
1.00 ,

0.75
0.60 lA A
a
0.25
0.00 i LJ-J- I . 1 _.U t W
I
_I
1 10 100
FREQUENCY (GHZ)
pDIAMER (uni)
- 20 (Thory 40 (rhoy
0 20 (Dda) 6 40 (Dat)

FIGURE 4. Measured and computed resistance using the model descnrbed in the paper. The input
parameters are described in the text.

1627