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Electroluminescence from Gunn Domains in GaAs MESFETS as a Means of Defect Detection

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Abstract

The emission of visible light from the high-field region near the drain of GaAs/AlGaAs MESFETs has been used to study the quality of fabricated transistors. Inhomogeneities or bright spots in the emission have proven to indicate the presence of defects in the gate/drain spacing or surface contaminants, such as re-deposited gate material. Processing abnormalities of 0.5 µm diameter are easily seen. The time-variation of emission from the brightest spots is characteristic of the formation of microplasmas the location of which will often predict the site of destructive device breakdown.

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Acknowledgments

The assistance of R. Dian and K. Schmidt for the SEM images, C. Moglestue for Monte Carlo simulations, J. Rosenzweig for MESFET devices and J. Rüdiger for bonding of the samples is most gratefully appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik, Eckerstraße 4, 7800, Freiburg, Germany

    Hans P. Zappe & Wolfgang Jantz

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  1. Hans P. Zappe
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  2. Wolfgang Jantz
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Zappe, H.P., Jantz, W. Electroluminescence from Gunn Domains in GaAs MESFETS as a Means of Defect Detection. MRS Online Proceedings Library 184, 33–38 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-184-33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-184-33

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