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a transferred electron oscillator or TEO. The Gunn diode may also be used for an amplifier in what may be known as a transferred electron amplifier or TEA. As Gunn diodes are easy to use, they form a relatively low cost method for generating microwave RF signals.
A discrete Gunn diode with the active layer mounted onto a heatsink for efficient heat transfer The most common method of manufacturing a Gunn diode is to grow and epitaxial layer on a degenerate n+ substrate. The active region is between a few microns and a few hundred micron thick. This active layer has a doping level between 1014cm-3 and 1016cm-3 - this is considerably less than that used for the top and bottom areas of the device. The thickness will vary according to the frequency required. The top n+ layer can be deposited epitaxially or doped using ion implantation. Both top and bottom areas of the device are heavily doped to give n+ material. This provides the required high conductivity areas that are needed for the connections to the device. Devices are normally mounted on a conducting base to which a wire connection is made. The base also acts as a heat sink which is critical for the removal of heat. The connection to the other terminal of the diode is made via a gold connection deposited onto the top surface. Gold is required because of its relative stability and high conductivity. During manufacture there are a number of mandatory requirements for the devices to be successful the material must be defect free and it must also have a very uniform level of doping.
The Gunn diode is not like a typical PN junction diode. Rather than having both p-type and n-type semiconductor, it only utilises n-type semiconductor where electrons are the majority carriers. The Gunn diode operation depends upon the very thin active region for its operation, it forms an ideal low power microwave RF oscillator, although it may also be used as an RF amplifier as well.
Gunn diode characteristic This negative resistance region means that the current flow in diode increases in the negative resistance region when the voltage falls - the inverse of the normal effect in any other positive resistance element. This phase reversal enables the Gunn diode to act as an amplifier and oscillator.
Gunn diode operation The increase in free electrons in one area cause the free electrons in another area to decrease forming a form of wave. It also results in a higher field for the electrons in this region. This higher field slows down these electrons relative to the remainder. As a result the region of excess electrons will grow
because the electrons in the trailing path arrive with a higher velocity. Similarly the area depleted of electrons will also grow because the electrons slightly ahead of the area with excess electrons can move faster. In this way, more electrons enter the region of excess making it larger, and more electrons leave the depleted region because they too can move faster. In this way the perturbation increases.
Gunn diode operation - electrons in the peak move more slowly The peak will traverse across the diode under the action of the potential across the diode, and growing as it traverses the diode as a result of the negative resistance. A clue to the reason for this unusual action can be seen if the voltage and current curves are plotted for a normal diode and a Gunn diode. For a normal diode the current increases with voltage, although the relationship is not linear. On the other hand the current for a Gunn diode starts to increase, and once a certain voltage has been reached, it starts to fall before rising again. The region where it falls is known as a negative resistance region, and this is the reason why it oscillates. A Gunn diode oscillator or transferred electron device oscillator generally consists of a diode with a DC bias applied and a tuned circuit. The Gunn diode oscillator circuit or transferred electron oscillator uses the negative resistance over a portion of the V/I curve of the Gunn diode, combined with the timing properties within the device to allow the construction of an RF relaxation oscillator. When a suitable current is passed through the device it will start to oscillator. The negative resistance created by the V/I characteristic will cancel out any real resistance in the circuit so that any oscillation will build up and will be maintained indefinitely while DC is applied. The amplitude will be limited by the limits of the negative resistance region of the Gunn diode.
and the whole assembly forms a resonant circuit. As a result there are a number of ways in which the resonant frequency of the assembly can be altered. Mechanical adjustments can be made by placing an adjusting screw into the waveguide cavity and these are used to give a crude measure of tuning. However some form of electrical tuning is normally required as well. It is possible to couple a varactor diode into the Gunn oscillator circuit, but changing the voltage on the varactor, and hence its capacitance, the frequency of the Gunn assembly can be trimmed. A more effective tuning scheme can be implemented using what is termed a YIG. It gains its name from the fact that it contains a ferromagnetic material called Yttrium Iron Garnet. The Gunn diode is placed into the cavity along with the YIG which has the effect of reducing the effective size of the cavity. This is achieved by placing a coil outside the waveguide. When a current is passed through the coil it has the effect of increasing the magnetic volume of the YIG and hence reducing the electrical size of the cavity. In turn this increases the frequency of operation. This form of tuning, although more expensive, produces much lower levels of phase noise, and the frequency can be varied by a much greater degree