Lead—Lead telluride Schottky-barrier microstrip

Observations of some interesting properties of the II-VI semiconductor PbTe result in the realization of a Pb-PbTe Schottky-barrier microstrip having a slowing factor as large as 450 for propagating electromagnetic waves. The properties of PbTe are briefly described, and the key features that produce a large slowing factor are explained. The theory of device operation at cryogenic temperatures is presented, along with details of device fabrication and actual device performance.