Observation of reversible collapse phenomena in GaAs MESFETs at cryogenic temperatures

A major change has been verified in the characteristics of GaAs MESFETs at 77 K and at 4 K after they have been subject to a drain voltage excursion larger than a threshold which depends on the transistor type. MESFETs can be recovered from collapse by inverting the drain and source terminals and applying a voltage excursion of a few volts. The collapse of a 3SK164 double-gate GaAs MESFET after a voltage excursion of 10 V is illustrated as a typical case.