Temperature investigation of the gate-drain diode of power GaAs MESFET with low-temperature-grown (Al)GaAs passivation

We have investigated the breakdown-temperature characteristics of the gate-drain diode of a GaAs metal semiconductor field-effect transistor with low-temperature-grown (LTG) GaAs/AlGaAs passivation. An anomalous decrease in the breakdown voltage as a function of the temperature is observed. This behavior leads us to propose an explanation of how LTG passivation leads to a high breakdown voltage at room temperature; and this explanation in turn allows us to predict the power performance of the passivated devices.