Q.3 a) Write short notes on 1)IMPATT diode 2)TRAPATT diode Ans: 1.

IMPATT diode
An IMPATT diode (impact ionization Avalanche Transit-Time) is a form of highpower diode used in high-frequency electronics and microwave devices. They are typically made with carbide owing to their high breakdown fields. They operate at frequencies between about 3 and 100 GHz or more. A main advantage is their highpower capability. These diodes are used in a variety of applications from lowpower radar systems to alarms. A major drawback of using IMPATT diodes is the high level of phase noise they generate. This results from the statistical nature of the avalanche process. Nevertheless these diodes make excellent microwave generators for many applications. The IMPATT diode family includes many other junctions metal the semiconductor. The first IMPATT oscillation was obtained from a simple p-n junction of silicon diode biased into a reverse avalanche break down and mounted in a microwave cavity. Because of the strong dependence of the ionization coefficient on the electric field, most of the electronhole 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. The original proposal for a microwave device of the IMPATT type was made by Read and involved a structure. The Read diode consists of two regions (i) The Avalanche region (a region with relatively high and high field) in which avalanche multiplication occurs and (ii) the drift region (a region with essentially intrinsic doping and constant field) in which the generated holes drift towards the contact. A similar device can be built with the configuration in which electrons generated from the avalanche multiplication drift through the intrinsic region.

An IMPATT diode generally is mounted in a microwave package. The diode is mounted with its highfield region close to a copper heatsink so that the heat generated at the diode junction can be readily dissipated. Similar microwave packages are used to house other microwave device. If a free electron with sufficient energy strikes a silicon atom, it can break a 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.

At breakdown, the n region is punched through and forms the avalanche region of the diode. The high resistivity region is the drift zone through which the avalanche generated electrons move toward the anode. Consider a dc bias VB, just short of that required to cause breakdown, applied to the diode. Let an AC voltage of sufficiently large magnitude be superimposed on the dc bias, such that during the positive cycle of the AC voltage, the diode is driven deep into the avalanche breakdown. At t=0, the AC voltage is zero, and only a small pre-breakdown current flows through the diode. As t increases, the voltage goes above the breakdown voltage and secondary electron-hole pairs are produced by impact ionization. As long as the field in the avalanche region is maintained above the breakdown field, the electron-hole concentration grows exponentially with t. Similarly this concentration decays exponentially with time when the field is reduced below breakdown voltage during the negative swing of the AC voltage. The holes generated in the avalanche region disappear in the p+ region and are collected by the cathode. The electrons are injected into the i zone where they drift toward the n+ region. Then, the field in the avalanche region reaches its maximum value and the population of the electron-hole pairs starts building up. At this time, the ionization coefficients have their maximum values. The generated electron concentration does not follow the electric field instantaneously because it also depends on the number of electron-hole pairs already present in the avalanche region. Hence, the electron concentration at this point will have a small value. Even after the field has passed its maximum value, the electron-hole concentration continues to grow because the secondary carrier generation rate still remains above its average value. For this reason, the electron concentration in the avalanche region attains its maximum value at, when the field has dropped to its average value. Thus, it is clear that the avalanche region introduces a 90 phase shift between the AC signal and the electron concentration in this region. With a further increase in t, the AC voltage becomes negative, and the field in the avalanche region drops below its critical value. The electrons in the avalanche region are then injected into the drift zone which induces a current in the external circuit which has a phase opposite to that of the AC voltage. The AC field, therefore, absorbs energy from the drifting electrons as they are decelerated by the decreasing field. It is clear that an ideal phase shift between the diode current and the AC signal is achieved if the thickness of the drift zone is such that the bunch of electron is

collected at the n+ - anode at the moment the AC voltage goes to zero. This condition is achieved by making the length of the drift region equal to the wavelength of the signal. This situation produces an additional phase shift of 90 between the AC voltage and the diode current.

1. TRAPATT diode
It is derived from the IMPATT diode and is closely related to it. It is a high efficiency microwave generator capable of operating from several hundred MHz to several GHz. The basic operation of the oscillator is a semi conductor p-n junction diode reverse biased to current densities well in excess of those encountered in normal avalanche operation. It is typically p*-n-n* Si or GaAs structure.

Fig-Schematic arrangement of TRAPATT diode

The occurrence of a dynamic storage of minority carriers in the highly-doped boundary regions of a TRAPATT diode and the subsequent release of these carriers into the diode's depletion region is verified for the first time in detailed computer simulations of the diode's internal dynamics. The simulations were carried out by numerical solution of the carrier transport equations in a p+nn+ silicon diode having a deep-diffused doping profile typical of experimental devices. The results show that it is this storage process, and not thermal generation, that controls the carrier avalanche even in very gradually graded structures. The dynamics of this phenomenon are described in detail and the implications of the results on TRAPATT oscillator performance. The transit time is also being used in this device (time between injection and collection). The time delay of carriers in transit is utilizes to obtain a current phase shift suitable for oscillation. The configuration of TRAPATT in a circuit is a reverse biased diode with a package tuning circuit consisting of L and C. TRAPATT is mounted at one end of the microwave transmission line. L is the gold wire inductance and C the bulk capacitance, all chipped along with the TRAPATT.