A Study of High Power Pulsed Characteristics of Low-Noise GaAs MESFET's

Low-noise GaAs MESFET's of various types have been investigated for short-term catastrophic burnout ratings when exposed to pulses from an X -band radar transmitter 6 = T/R cell combination. Failure modes have been categorized, and SEM, EDAX and optical techniques employed in the associated failure analyses. A limited number of longer term tests at lower pulse levels are also described. Post-dosage, interpulse RF performance has been studied by use of a special test set described, the initial results obtained are presented.