Channel-length effects in quarter-micrometer gate-length GaAs MESFET's

The electrical performance of 0.25-µm gate-length GaAs MESFET's with channel lengths (i.e., source-drain spacings) of 2.1 and 0.5µm is compared. An extremely short channel length has been found experimentally to lead to significant increases in the electron average drift velocity, transconductance, and forward transducer gain. Increases in both the electron average drift velocity and intrinsic dc transconductance of ∼70 percent were observed in these 0.25-µm gate-length devices when the source-drain spacing was reduced from 2.1 to 0.5µm. Deleterious effects such as increased output conductance and interelectrode capacitances were also noted.