Abstract
A physics-based Quantum-Modified CLassical Drift–Diffusion (QMCLDD) non-linear mathematical model has been developed for design and characterisation of GaN/AlGaN asymmetrical superlattice pin based single-pole single-throw (SPST) and single-pole multi-throw (SPMT) switches for sub-MM wave communication systems. The simulator has incorporated several important physical phenomena that arise in superlattice structure, including quantum confinement effects, generation-recombination and tunnelling generation of carriers as well as scattering limited carrier mobility and velocity in GaN/AlGaN structure. In order to reduce the dislocation density and in turn the series resistance in GaN/AlGaN heterostructure, thin AlN nucleation layer and a buffer layer are considered in the simulation. It is observed that the RF series resistance of the pin device, operating around 0.2 THz frequency regime, reduces in case of proposed superlattice structure. The advantages of super-lattice pin diode over the conventional Si devices are the faster reverse recovery time (~ 9 vs 35 ns) and lowering of forward RF series resistances (0.39 vs 1.20 Ω). This study also reveals that SPST and SPMT switches made up with super-lattice devices are characterized by low insertion loss (~ 0.13 and 0.15 dB, respectively) and high isolation (~ 65.4 and 82.5 dB, respectively). A good agreement between theory and experiment establishes the superiority of the present model over the others. A comparative analysis of Si and GaN/AlGaN super-lattice pin SPST and SPMT switches establishes the potential of the later for its application in high-frequency THz-communication. In addition to this, a detailed thermal modelling of the device has also been done to make the analysis more realistic. The junction temperature of the designed GaN/AlGaN superlattice pin switch will be as high as 377 K, which is quite moderate compared to its flat profile counterpart. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first ever report on QMCLDD non-linear modelling of pin SPST and SPMT switches (series-shunt combination) at THz-arena.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- V(x,t):
-
Electric potential
- Jp,n(x,t):
-
Current density of hole and electron
- Na(x):
-
Acceptor concentration
- Nd(x):
-
Donor concentration
- GTn,p(x,t) :
-
Carrier generation rates
- αp,n :
-
Carrier ionization rates
- Cp,n(x,t):
-
Concentration of the charge carriers
- µp,n :
-
Mobility of hole and electron
- KB :
-
Boltzmann’s constant
- Tj :
-
Junction temperature
- Ei(x,t):
-
Electric field in the i-region
- h:
-
Planck’s constant
- W:
-
i-region width
- P(x,t):
-
Normalized current density
- QTp,n(x,t):
-
Quantum potential
- q:
-
Charge of electron
- ρ(x,t):
-
Volume charge density
- ni :
-
Intrinsic concentration
- Dn,p :
-
Diffusion constant of hole and electron
- Mm :
-
Modulation Index
- Vb :
-
Breakdown voltage
- DUT:
-
Device under test
- I:
-
Forward bias current
- V:
-
Applied voltage
- τ:
-
Carrier life time
- fa :
-
Design frequency
- L:
-
Diffusion length
- Rs :
-
Series resistance
- Ri :
-
Intrinsic resistance
- Rj(f):
-
Junction resistance
- i(t):
-
Transit time current
- IRM :
-
Reverse recovery current
- Pd :
-
Power dissipation
- Z0 :
-
Characteristic impedance
- Ta :
-
Ambient temperature
- θj :
-
Thermal impedance
- Cp :
-
Specific heat
- Vd :
-
Volume of the device
- HC :
-
Heat capacity
- Tth :
-
Thermal time constant
- tp :
-
On time of the applied pulse
- tr :
-
Total time duration of the applied pulse
- σ:
-
Conductivity
References
Alekseev E, Pavlidis D (1996) W-band InGaAs/Inp pin diode monolithic integrated switch. In: IEEE GaAs circuit symposium, pp 285–288. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/567888/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Ancona MG (2011) Density gradient theory: a macroscopic approach to quantum confinement and tunneling in semiconductor devices. J Comput Electron 10:65–97. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10825-011-0356-9. Accessed 8 June 2017
NMS Electronic Archive (2018) New semiconductor materials, characteristics and properties (online). http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/GaN/AlGaN. Accessed 5 Oct 2017
Bellantoni JV, Bartle DC, Payne D, Dermott GM, Bandla S, Tayrani R, Raffaelli L (1989) Monolithic GaAs pin diode switch circuits for high power MM-wave applications. IEEE Trans 37:2162. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel1/22/1678/00044137.pdf. Accessed 8 June 2017
Bogle JJ, Hubert RJ, Boles TE (2010) A 50 watt monolithic surface-mount series-shunt pin diode switch with integrated thermal sink. In: Proceeding of Asia–Pacific conference. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5728262/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Boles T, Brogl J, Hong D et al (2013) AlGaS anode hetero-junction pin diodes. Wiley 10:786–789. https://www.macom.com/…/AlGaAs%20PIN%20Diode_ISCS_2012_Revised_112712. Accessed 8 June 2017
Buder T, Kinayman T et al (2003) Low-loss high-isolation 60–80 GHz GaAs SPST pin switch. In: IEEE MTT-s digest, pp 1307–1310. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1212610/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Dmitriev VD et al. (1995) SiC a(3)n alloys and wide band gap nitrides on SiC substrates. Int Phys Conf Ser 141:497–502. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/10603/154792/24/24_appendix%205.pdf. Accessed 8 June 2017
Egorov I, Xiao Y, Poloskov A (2018) pin diode diagnostics of pulsed electron beam for high repetition rate model. J Phys Conf Ser 830 0120044. http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/830/1/012044/pdf
Eisele H, Haddad GI (1997) In: Sze SM (ed) Microwave semiconductor device physics. Wiley, New York
Falco CD, Gatti E et al (2005) Quantum-corrected drift–diffusion models for transport in semiconductor device. J Comput Phys 204:533–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2004.10.029
Grov AS (1967) Physics and technology of semiconductor device, 1st edn. Willey, New York. https://www.wiley.com/…/Physics+and+Technology+of+Semiconductor+Devices-p-97. Accessed 8 June 2017
Henfiner AR, Lai JS et al (2001) SiC power diode provide breakthrough performance for a wide range of application. IEEE Trans 16:273–278. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/911152/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Iturri-Hinojosa A, Resendize LM, Torchynska TV (2010) Numerical analysis of the performance of pin diode microwave switches based on different semiconductor materials. Int J Pure Appl Sci 1:93–99. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/69f6/e307d441c2963c36749d6c532ac797e11fa5.pdf. Accessed 8 June 2017
Jungel A, Tang S (2002) A relaxation scheme for the hydrodynamic equations for semiconductors. Appl Numer Math 43:229–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9274(01)00182-9
Kundu A, Ray Kanjilal M, Mukherjee M (2013a) Insertion loss and isolation of pin switch based on SiC family. J Electron Dev 18:1568–1574. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.667.2419&rep=rep1. Accessed 8 June 2017
Kundu A, Kanjilal M, Das A, Kundu J, Mukherjee M (2013b) Cubic structure Si Pin diode as RF switch. In: International conference IET, pp 119–121. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6950916/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Kundu A, Kanjilal M, Mukherjee, Ghosh D (2013c) Switching characteristics of pin diode using different semiconductor materials. Int J Adv Technol Eng Res 3:19–22. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/49442844/switching…of…ijater/4. Accessed 8 June 2017
Kundu A, Kanjilal M, Biswas P (2015) Thermal modeling of III–V WBG-based pin switch. In: Acharyya A (ed) Computational advancement in communication circuits and systems, chapter 45, pp 407–403. Springer India, New Delhi, India. https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/thermal-modeling-of-iii-v-wbg-based-p-i-n-switch/4658306. Accessed 7 June 2017
Kundu J, Kundu A, Kanjilal M, Mukherjee M (2016) A 2D-thermal model for estimation of heat-dissipation in SiC based pin switches used for RF communication. In: Acharyya A (ed) Frontiers computer, communication and electrical engineering, book chapter 38. Taylor & Francis Group, New Delhi, India, pp 183–185. https://www.researchgate.net/…/301723363_2D-thermal_model_for_estimation_of_heat. Accessed 07 June 2017
Leenov D (1963) The silicon pin diode as a microwave radar protector at megawatt levels. IEEE Trans Electron Dev 10:53–61. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1473671. Accessed 8 June 2017
Li X-H, Wang S, Xie H et al (2015) Growth of high-quality AlN layers on sapphire substrates at relativity low temperatures by metalorganic. Chem Vap Depos 252:845–1202. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.201451571
Mukherjee M (2009) Computer studies of silicon carbide, gallium nitride and indium phosphide based IMPATT devices operating in MM wave and terahertz region and corresponding studies on the photo-sensitivity of the devices. Ph.D. thesis, Calcutta University. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/10603/154792/11/11_chapter%202.pd. Accessed 8 June 2017
Nesbit G, Wong D, Li D, Chen JA (1986) A W-band monolithic GaAs pin diode switch. In: IEEE MTT symposium digest, pp 51–55. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1114478/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Ozpenici B, Tolbert LM (2003) Comparision of wide-bandgap semiconductors for power electronics application. Oak Ridge National Laboratory. https://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub57423.pdf. Accessed 8 June 2017
Shiyu SC, Wang G (2008) High-field properties of carrier transport in bulk wurrtzite GaN: Monte Carlo respective. J Appl Phys 103:703–708. https://aip.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.2828003. Accessed 8 June 2017
Strollo AGM, Spirito P (1994) A new pin diode modeling approach for power electronic Pspice simulation. In: Proceedings of 25th annual IEEE power electronics specialists conference 1, pp 25–28. https://zapdf.com/a-new-pin-diode-modelling-approach-for-power-electronic-pspi.html. Accessed 8 June 2017
Stupelmann V, Filaretov G (1976) Semiconductor devices. MIR Publishers, Moscow. https://www.sebopapirus.com.br/livro-V_Stupelman_G_Filaretov-S. Accessed 8 June 2017
Sze SM (1997) VLSI technology, 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill International, New York
Sze SM (2008) Semiconductor devices: physics and technology, 2nd edn. Willey, New York. https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Physics_of_Semiconductor_Devices.html?id=o4unkmHBHb8C. Accessed 8 June 2017
Takahashi K, Okamura S, Wang X et al (2011) A capacitance compensated high isolation and low insertion loss series pin diode SPDT switch. In: Proceeding of the 41st European microwave communication, IEEE, pp 583–586. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6101964/. Accessed 8 June 2017
Wang H, Zou H, Li H (2015) Electro-thermal coupled modeling of pin diode limiter used in high-power microwave effects simulation. J Electromagn Wave Appl 29:615–625. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09205071.2015.1011350. Accessed 8 June 2017
Acknowledgements
Dr. M. Mukherjee wishes to acknowledge, Adamas University, for providing necessary infrastructure and facilities for conducting the research program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kundu, A., Kanjilal, M.R. & Mukherjee, M. III–V super-lattice SPST/SPMT pin switches for THz communication: theoretical reliability and experimental feasibility studies. Microsyst Technol 27, 539–554 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-018-4053-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-018-4053-5