Experimental determination of stability of field-effect transistors under pulsed overloads

Abstract

A setup for determining the susceptibility of Schottky-gate field-effect transistors (Schottky FETs) to reversible failures under exposure to high-power impulse noises is described. In contrast to the available Schottky-FET test methods based on the microwave technique, the proposed setup is based on testing of Schottky FETs with video pulses. In this case, the setup design and the test procedure are simplified. The commonality of mechanisms of reversible failures of the Schottky FETs under microwave and video pulse overloads allows one to extend the test results to the both cases. The presented method is intended for selecting transistors comparatively simply using minimal facilities on the basis of criteria of reliable operation under exposure to pulsed overloads.