16ECT72 - RF AND MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode (Operation, Physical description and Applications)

Course Handling Faculty

Ms.S.Thilagavathi
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology
Pollachi-642003
[email protected]

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

 Course Outcome 3
Analyze the characteristics of microwave solid state
CO3
devices with its application

Learning Outcome 1
Examine the construction and operation of
LO1
microwave semiconductor devices

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Avalanche Transit Time
Devices
➢ IMPATTT Diode

➢ TRAPATT Diode

➢ BARITT Diode

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Introduction
➢ Rely on the effect of voltage breakdown across a reverse biased p-n
junction.

➢ The avalanche diode oscillator uses carrier impact ionization and drift
in the high field region of a semiconductor junction to produce a
negative resistance at microwave frequencies.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Negative Resistance Effect

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Introduction
Two distinct modes of avalanche oscillator is observed

1) IMPATT (IMPact ionization Avalanche Transit Time operation)

➢ DC-to-RF c.e. is 5 to 10%

2) TRAPPAT (Trapped Plasma Avalanche Triggered Transit operation)

- 20 to 60%

➢ Another type of active microwave device is BARITT (Barrier

Injected Transit Time Diode)
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Introduction
➢ Form of high power diode used in high frequency electronics and
microwave devices

➢ Typically made from silicon carbides due to their high breakdown fields.

➢ Frequency - 3 to 100 GHz

➢ High power capability

➢ From low power radar systems to alarms

➢ Generate high level of phase noise – avalanche process

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
IMPATT Diode as oscillator

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode
➢ The IMPATT diode family includes many different junctions and
metal semiconductor devices.

➢ The first IMPATT oscillation was obtained from a simple silicon p-n
junction diode biased into a reverse avalanche break down and
mounted in a microwave cavity.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Avalanche Effect and Transit Time Effect
➢ Electron–hole pairs are generated in the high field region. The
generated electron immediately moves into the N region, while the
generated holes drift across the P region.

➢ The time required for the hole to reach the contact constitutes the
transit time delay.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Physical Description – Read Diode

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Physical Description – Read Diode
➢ The original proposal for a microwave device of the IMPATT type was
made by Read. Read diode is the basic type in the IMPATT diode family

The Read diode consists of two regions:

1) The Avalanche region (a region with relatively high doping and high
field) in which avalanche multiplication occurs and

2) the drift region (a region with essentially intrinsic doping and constant
field) in which the generated holes drift towards the contact.
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Physical Description – Read Diode

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Physical Description
➢ + very high doping

➢ i or v intrinsic material

➢ Two regions:

1) Thin p region (High field/Avalanche region) – avalanche multiplication

occurs

2) Intrinsic region (Drift region) – generated holes must drift towards the p+
contact
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Impact Ionization
➢ If a free electron with sufficient energy strikes a silicon atom, it can break
the covalent bond of silicon and liberate an electron from the covalent
bond.

➢ If the electron liberated gains energy by being in an electric field and

liberates other electrons from other covalent bonds then this process can
cascade very quickly into a chain reaction producing a large number of
electrons and a large current flow.

➢ This phenomenon is called impact avalanche.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Impact Ionization
➢ The space between n+ -p junction and the i –p+ junction is called the
space charge region

➢ The diode is reverse biased and mounted in a microwave cavity. The

impedance of the cavity is mainly inductive which is matched with
the capacitive impedance of the diode to form a resonant circuit.

➢ Such device can produce a negative ac resistance that in turns

delivers power from the dc bias to the oscillation
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Avalanche Multiplication
➢ When the reverse bias voltage is above the breakdown voltage, the
space charge region always extends from n+ -p junction to the i –p+
junction through the p and the i regions.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Avalanche Multiplication
➢ A positive charge moves from left to right and gives a rising field.

➢ The maximum field which is at the n+ -p junction is about several

hundred kilovolt/cm

➢ Carriers (holes) in the high field region near the n+ -p junction

acquire energy to knock down the valence electrons in the conduction
band and hence electron hole pairs are generated.

➢ This is avalanche multiplication.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Avalanche Multiplication
➢ The electrons move into the n+ region and the holes drift through
the space charge region to the p+ region with a constant velocity 𝑉𝑑 .

➢ The field throughout the space charge is about 5 kV/cm.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Avalanche Multiplication
The transit time of a hole across the drift i-region L is given by

And the avalanche multiplication factor is

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

➢ The breakdown voltage for a silicon p+ -n junction can be
expressed as

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Breakdown voltage Vs impurity doping

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Carrier Current Io(t)
and External Current
Ie(t)

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Carrier Current Io(t) and External Current Ie(t)
➢ The diode can be mounted in a microwave resonant circuit

➢ An ac voltage can be maintained at a given frequency in the circuit, and the total
field across the diode is the sum of ac and dc fields which causes breakdown at the
n+ -p junction during the positive half cycle of the ac voltage cycle if the field is
above the breakdown voltage.

➢ The carrier current (hole current in this case) Io(t) generated at the n+ -p junction
by the avalanche multiplication grows exponentially with time while the field is
above critical voltage.
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
Carrier Current Io(t) and External Current Ie(t)
➢ During the negative half cycle, when the field is below breakdown
voltage, the carrier current decays exponentially.

➢ Io(t) is in the form a pulse of very short duration and it reaches its
maximum in the middle of the ac voltage cycle or one quarter of the
cycle later than the voltage.

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Carrier Current Io(t) and External Current Ie(t)
➢ Under the influence of electric field the generated holes are injected
into the space region towards the negative terminal.

➢ As the injected holes traverse the drift space,

a. They induce a current Ie(t) in the external circuit.

b. Cause a reduction of the field

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Carrier Current Io(t) and External Current Ie(t)
➢ Since the velocity of the holes in the space charge is constant

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Carrier Current Io(t) and External Current Ie(t)
➢ The external current Ie(t) because of the moving holes is delayed by
90 degree relative to the pulsed Io(t).

➢ Since the carrier current Io(t) is delayed by one quarter cycle or 90

degree relative to the ac voltage, Ie(t) is then delayed by 180 degree
relative to the voltage.

➢ Hence negative conductance occurs and the diode can be used for
microwave oscillation and amplification.
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
IMPATT Diode - Operation
➢ Diode is operated in reverse bias
near breakdown, and both the N and
N- regions are completely depleted

➢ Electric field is highly peaked in the

avalanche region and nearly flat in
drift region
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
IMPATT Diode - Operation
➢Avalanche breakdown occurs at the
point of highest electric field, and this
generates a large number of hole-
electron pairs by impact ionization

➢Holes swept into the cathode –

electrons travel across drift region
toward anode
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
IMPATT Diode - Operation
➢ As they drift, they induce image
charges on the anode, giving rise to
a displacement current in the
external circuit that is 180 degree
out of phase with the nearly
sinusoidal voltage waveform

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode Physical Structure

Three typical silicon IMPATT diodes

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode Physical Structure

Three typical silicon IMPATT diodes

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode

Applied and RF voltage

Resulting current pulse and its drift

across diode

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

IMPATT Diode – Negative Resistance

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Applications of IMPATT diode
➢Used in a variety of applications from low power radar
systems to alarms

➢In view of its high levels of phase noise, it is used in

transmitters more frequently than as a local oscillator in
receivers where the phase noise performance is generally
more important

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

Applications of IMPATT diode
The following products are available as examples of IMPATT diode
application:
1. Cavity stabilized IMPATT diode oscillator CIDO series

2. Pulsed IMPATT power sources IPSP series

3. IMPATT active frequency multipliers IAFM series

4. Pulsed and CW IMPATT injection-locked amplifiers IILAP and IILA series

5. Voltage controlled IMPATT oscillators VCIO series

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices

References:
❖ Liao, S.Y., “Microwave Devices and Circuits”, Prentice Hall of India,
2006

❖ Annapurna Das and Sisir K Das, “Microwave Engineering”, Tata

McGraw Hill Inc., 2009

❖ David M Pozar, “Microwave Engineering”, 3rd Edition John Wiley

and Sons, Inc., 2005
Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices
 THANK YOU…

Department of ECE RFME - Unit III – Microwave Solid State Devices