Microwave-Rectification RFI Response in Field-Effect Transistors

This paper discusses the rectification of microwave energy in low-medium frequency feld-effect transistors (FET's) and develops a small-signal model for RHI noise analysis in low-frequency linear circuitry. The modeling procedure centers on a Taylor series expansion of the gate voltage-drain current characteristic which shows a small increase in drain current due to a nicrowave voltage at the gate. The increase in drain current is proportional to the variation in transconductance with gate voltage, and the square of the microwave voltage. Analysis of the microwave power in the transistor shows that critical parameters in determnination of the sensitivity are the gate capacitance and the real part ofthe device input impedance, which ultimately is limited by the parasitic resistance between the active channel and contacts.