Solid-State Electronics, Vol.48, No.7, 1233-1237, 2004
Elimination of current instability and improvement of RF power performance usingSi(3)N(4) passivation in SiC lateral epitaxy MESFETs
SiC lateral epitaxy (LE) MESFETs demonstrated a dramatic reduction of output conductance. Despite elimination of current injection into the substrate, a severe problem of current instability remained. Using PECVD Si3N4 passivation, the current instability phenomenon has been completely eliminated resulting in improved RE power performance. RF output power measured after passivation exceeded 90% of the theoretical maximum values that were derived from the DC characteristics. Further enhanced performance in class B operation was observed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.