Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Considerations for Large-Signal Modeling of Microwave Field-Effect Transistors

Abstract

The field-effect transistor (FET) has just three terminals. One is a gate that controls current flowing between the source and drain terminals. It is simple enough, and so widely accepted as a workhorse in microwave applications, that it must be fairly well understood?or is it? Hidden between those terminals is a treasure trove of complicated interactions that have taken years to sort out. Just when we think we know all we need to know, someone asks for double the power, to move up to the next band, or even to do it all again in a new semiconductor material, and so the story continues.