Beam-Lead plated heat sink GaAs IMPATT: Part I—Performance

GaAs IMPATT devices are currently being developed for use as high-power microwave oscillators. Since low thermal impedance is required for dissipation of high input powers, this device is usually fabricated by thermal compression bonding to a diamond heat sink or a multimesa plated heat sink. This paper discusses the development of 4-mesa beam-leaded plated heat sink (BLPHS) C- and X-band GaAs IMPATT diodes. A description of the fabrication procedures is given, whereby the beam-lead interconnects are formed as part of the wafer fabrication procedure. Diodes tested at 5 GHz give up to 7.3 W of output power at 13.5- percent efficiency at a junction temperature of approximately 210°C. X-band diodes, although the data is more limited, show efficiencies up to 16.5 percent (2.2 W) for fiat profile diodes, and up to 20.8 percent for lo-hi-lo profile diodes. BLPHS diodes, therefore, are limited in their efficiency by the epitaxial material's doping profile. Accelerated stress aging data taken to date on BLPHS units show them to have an estimated mean time to failure greater than 2 × 10 6 h at 200°C, which is comparable to thermal compression bonded to diamond units.