Characterization of trapping in a GaN HEMT by performing isothermal three-stage pulse measurements

Abstract

Modern microwave circuit performance is susceptible to dispersion of the characteristics of microwave FETs. This is because the complex signals used in communication systems invoke charge trapping and self-heating mechanisms. These mechanisms are sensitive to bias, temperature, and frequency variations. A major difficulty in characterizing charge trapping in microwave FETs is to differentiate between the self-heating and charge trapping rates. In this paper, the trapping behavior in a GaN HEMT is characterized by performing isothermal three-stage pulse measurements.