Current-dependent hot-electron stresses on InGaP-gated and AlGaAs-gated low noise PHEMTs

A newly proposed method, called the current-dependent hot-electron stress, is used to study InGaP-gated and AlGaAs-gated low noise PHEMT devices with different drain currents at high drain voltages. The impact ionization between gate and drain is the major mechanism affecting devices during hot-electron stressing, which are excited by the high gate-to-drain electric fields. However, the measure of the effects of the impact ionization related to the drain current during hot-electron stressing is less discussed in the published literatures. In this work, the designed hot-electron stressed conditions, which are related to the different drain currents, are used to demonstrate the influence of drain currents in hot-electron stresses and, furthermore, to estimate and compare InGaP-gated with AlGaAs-gated PHEMTs.