Monolithic integration of surge protection diodes into low-noise GaAs MESFET's

For use in practical equipment, GaAs MESFET's need Schottky gates with high energy tolerance against electrostatic discharge. This paper describes the design and fabrication technology related to the monolithic integration of protective diodes into low-noise GaAs MESFET's. A new diode structure, the grooved sidewall junction diode (GSJD), is proposed which is well suited for suppressing deterioration of the FET's RF performance. The GSJD was successfully integrated into the dual-gate low-noise GaAs FET for use in a UHF TV tuner. High energy tolerance of 50 erg was obtained in the device with a noise figure of 1.2 dB at 1 GHz.