[25p-D315-1~18] 3.9 Terahertz technologies

[25p-D315-1] Successful operation of large-area resonant tunneling diodes
by introducing a heat-dissipation InP conduction layer

〇Hiroki Tanaka¹, Hidenari Fujikata¹, Han Feifan¹, Akira Ishikawa¹, Safumi Suzuki¹, Masahiro Asada¹ (1.Tokyo Institute of Technology)

Keywords:Terahertz (THz), resonant tunneling diode (RTD)

Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) are major candidates for THz wave sources. However, even RTDs with small mesa areas (~2 um²) suffer from thermal destruction because of the heat generated in the RTDs, which results in RTD oscillators having small output powers, in the order of 10 μW around 1 THz. In this work, the conduction layer under RTD layers was changed from n⁺-InGaAs with low thermal conductivity to n⁺-InP with high thermal conductivity, and the IV characteristics of RTD mesas fabricated on the RTD wafers were investigated. As a result, RTD mesas on the wafers with n⁺-InP conduction layer can sustain mesa areas about 3 times larger (~6 um²) than those with n⁺-InGaAs. The RTD oscillators composed of rectangular cavity resonators fabricated on the wafers with n⁺-InP conduction layer can generate high output powers in the mW range around 1 THz, because of the heat dissipation path through thick electrodes.