Microwave Engineering )ECE 327(

Reference: Microwave Devices and Circuits

TRAPATT diode
• The abbreviation TRAPATT stands for trapped plasma avalanche triggered transit mode.
• TRAPATT mode is reported by Prager.
• It is a high-efficiency microwave generator capable of operating from several hundred
megahertz to several gigahertz.
• TRAPATT diodes are silicon p+-n-n+ or n+-p-p+ structures.
• The operation of the TRAPATT oscillator is a p-n junction diode reverse biased to
current densities in excess of those encountered in normal avalanche operation.
• Diodes are punched through at breakdown that is the dc electric field in the depletion
region just prior to breakdown is above the saturated drift velocity level.
• Depletion region width varying from 2.5 to 12.5 pm.
• The p+ region is kept as thin as possible at 2.5 to 7.5 pm. ‫اﻷرﻗﺎم دي ﻣﺶ ﻣﮭﻤﺔ‬

• TRAPATT diode's diameter ranges 50 pm to 750 pm.

Operating principle of TRAPATT diode
• TRAPATT mode of an avalanche
p+-n-n+ diode is operating with an
assumed square wave current
drive.

• High-field avalanche zone

propagates through the diode and
fills the depletion layer with a
dense plasma of electrons and
holes that become trapped in the
low-field region behind the zone.
Operating principle of TRAPATT diode
• At point A the electric field is uniform throughout the sample and its magnitude is large but
less than the avalanche breakdown.
• Diode current is turned on since the only charge carriers present are those caused by the
thermal generation.
• Diode initially charges up like a linear capacitor, driving the magnitude of the electric field
above the breakdown voltage.
• From point B to point C, when sufficient number of carriers is generated, the particle current
exceeds the external current and the electric field is depressed throughout the depletion region
causing the voltage to decrease.
• During this time interval the electric field is sufficiently large for the avalanche to continue,
and a dense plasma of electrons and holes is created.
• As some of the electrons and holes drift out of the ends of the depletion layer, the field is
further depressed and traps the remaining plasma.
• The voltage decreases to point D.
Operating principle of TRAPATT diode
• A long time is required to remove the plasma because the total plasma charge is large
compared to the charge per unit time in the external current.
• At point E the plasma is removed, but a residual charge of electrons remains in one end of the
depletion layer and a residual charge of holes in the other end.
• As the residual charge is removed, the voltage increases from point E to point F.
• At point F all the charge that was generated internally has been removed.
• This charge must be greater than or equal to that supplied by the external current otherwise,
the voltage will exceed that at point A.
• From point F to point G the diode charges up again like a fixed capacitor.
• At point G the diode current goes to zero for half a period and the voltage remains constant at
VA until the current comes back on and the cycle repeats.
Avalanche-zone velocity (𝝊𝒛 )
𝐽
𝜐𝑧 =
𝑞 𝑁𝐴
𝐽: current density
𝑞: electron charge 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶
𝑁𝐴 : doping concentration of the n region (donor concentration)
• Avalanche zone or avalanche shock front will quickly sweep across most of the
diode, leaving the diode filled by a highly conducting plasma of holes and
electrons whose space charge depresses the voltage to low values.
• Because of the dependence of the drift velocity on the field, the electrons and
holes will drift at velocities determined by the low-field mobilities, and the
transit time of the carriers can become much longer than
𝐿
𝜏𝑠 =
𝜐𝑠
𝜐𝑠 : saturated carrier drift velocity.
BARITT diode
• BARITT diodes, meaning barrier injected transit-time diodes, are the latest addition to the
family of active microwave diodes.
• They have long drift regions similar to those of IMPATT diodes.
• The carriers traversing the drift regions of BARITT diodes, however, are generated by
minority carrier injection from forward-biased junctions instead of being extracted from the
plasma of an avalanche region.
• Several different structures have been operated as BARITT diodes, including p-n-p, p-n-v-p,
p-n-metal, and metal-n-metal.
• For a p-n-v-p BARITT diode, the forward-biased p-n junction emits holes into the v region.
• These holes drift with saturation velocity through the v region and are collected at the p
contact.
• The diode exhibits a negative resistance for transit angles between 𝜋 and 2𝜋.
• The optimum transit angle is approximately 1.6 𝜋.
 BARITT diode
• A crystal n-type silicon wafer is sandwiched between
two PtSi Schottky barrier contacts.

M-n-M diode
• 𝜙n1 and 𝜙n2 are the barrier heights for the metal-
semiconductor contacts.

• For the PtSi-Si-PtSi structure, 𝜙𝑛1 = 𝜙n2 = 0.85 𝑒𝑉.

Energy band diagram in
thermal equilibrium

• The hole barrier height 𝜙p2 for the forward-biased

contact is about 0.15 𝑒𝑉.

Energy band diagram

under bias condition
Mechanisms responsible for microwave oscillations

1. The rapid increase of the carrier injection process caused by the

decreasing potential barrier of the forward-biased metal-semiconductor
‫اﻟﺮﻗﻢ ده ﻣﮭﻢ‬
contact.
2. An apparent 3𝜋/2 transit angle of the injected carrier that traverses the
semiconductor depletion region.
• The rapid increase in terminal current with applied voltage (above 30 V)
is caused by thermionic hole injection into the semiconductor as the
depletion layer of the reverse-biased contact reaches through the entire
device thickness.
Critical voltage (𝑽𝒄 )
𝑞𝑁𝐿2
𝑉𝑐 =
2𝜖𝑠
N: doping concentration
L: semiconductor thickness
𝜖𝑠 : semiconductor dielectric permittivity

𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 𝑉𝑏𝑑 = 2 𝑉𝑐

𝑉𝑏𝑑
𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = 𝐸𝑏𝑑 =
𝐿