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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2011

Hans P. Zappe
Affiliation:
Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik, Eckerstraße 4 7800 Freiburg, West Germany
Wolfgang Jantz
Affiliation:
Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik, Eckerstraße 4 7800 Freiburg, West Germany
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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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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References

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