Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to monitor the effects of sidegating over time. Both enhancement mode and depletion mode MESFETs, with and without isolation implants, were tested at elevated temperatures. The sidegate effect is caused when carriers are introduced into the substrate with a negative potential contact. All electrodes were manufactured with ohmic contacts. Once in the substrate, the electrons move towards more positive potentials. As they move through the GaAs substrate, some electrons are trapped. If trapped near the FET, the electrons can influence the threshold or pinchoff voltage of the device. In this study, the influence was measured by monitoring the channel current in MESFETs. A FET was considered sidegated, when the channel current was reduced by 10%. This study was performed also to investigate whether the wearout failure mechanisms make MESFETs more susceptible to sidegating effects as they age. >
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