The Study of InP-Based Resonant Tunneling Diode

A resonant tunneling diode (RTD) based on Indium Phosphide (InP) with good characteristics has a potential for terahertz (THz) oscillator and detector applications. This device with a junction area of 38.5 μm
²
shows excellent DC characteristics, including the valley current density(J
v
) is 59.7 kA/cm
²
, the peak current density (J
p
) is 298.7 kA/cm
²
, and the peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) is 5. According to the DC measurement, the theoretically maximum RF output power (P
max
) is 2.4 mW and theoretically calculated oscillation frequency (f
max
) is 2.26 THz. Oscillator circuits with high RF power can be realized by large micro-sized RTD devices and air-bridge interconnection technology is used for reducing device capacitance. This device has a great potential for terahertz oscillator and detector applications.