A New Lattice-matched In0.17Al0.83N~GaN Based Heterostructure IMPATT Diode For Terahertz Application

Simulation studies are made on the dc and microwave performance of a novel lattice-matched In0.17Al0.83N/GaN heterostructure impact avalanche transit time (IMPATT) diode designed at the low-end terahertz frequency of 220 GHz. The electric field, breakdown voltage, rf output power and the dc-to-rf conversion efficiency of the heterostructure IMPATT diodes are compared with the GaN homostructure IMPATT diode. The results show that, a more localized avalanche region width is obtained for the heterostructure IMPATT diodes. With value of 45 nm of the In0.17Al0.83N layer width, the heterostructure IMPATT diode gives the highest efficiency (15.4%) with moderate rf output power density (1.62 MW cm(-2)), and the lowest Q-factor (6.57) as compared to other heterostructure and homostructure IMPATT diodes.