X-Band High-Burnout Silicon-Schottky Mixer Diodes

The development of a highly reliable thermal-compression bonded X-band silicon-Schottky barrier diode is described. A highburnout diode capable of handling peak RF power of 10-14 watts (
\tau
= 1 µs, 103 Hz) with a noise figure of 6.5-7.0 dB (SSB) was suceessfully demonstrated. These diodes are more rugged than whisker type point contact and Schottky-barrier devices and exhibit two to three times higher burnout resistance to RF pulses than Schottkybarrier diodes manufactured today. For this reason, they are very suitable for high-power military radar systems and especially useful for medium-power systems where limiters are not used to protect the mixer diodes.