Design considerations for GaAs high-low Impatt diodes

An optimization of GaAs high-low Impatt diodes is achieved by choosing the high-doped region width such as to just avoid carrier multiplication in the drift region. This is proved by the dependence of the avalanche width on the electric field at the high-low interface. For a high-doping concentration of 10 to the 17th per cu cm the optimum width of the high-doped layer is computed as 0.3 micron. The efficiency for just punch through pi-mode diodes results in 24% for 12 GHz and 18% for 30 GHz.