Electrical Characteristics of InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors under Sub-Bandgap Photonic Excitation

Electrical gate and drain characteristics of double heterostructure InAlAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs have been investigated under sub-bandgap photonic excitation ($hv). Drain $(V_{DS})-,{\;}gate($V_{DS})-$, and optical power($P_{opt}$)-dependent variation of the abnormal gate leakage current and associated physical mechanisms in the PHEMTs have been characterized. Peak gate voltage ($V_{GS,P}$) and the onset voltage for the impact ionization ($V_{GS.II}$) have been extracted and empirical model for their dependence on the $V_{DS}$ and $P_{opt} have been proposed. Anomalous gate and drain current, both under dark and under sub-bandgap photonic excitation, have been modeled as a parallel connection of high performance PHEMT with a poor satellite FET as a parasitic channel. Sub-bandgap photonic characterization, as a function of the optical power with $h\nu=0.799eV$, has been comparatively combined with those under dark condition for characterizing the bell-shaped negative humps in the gate current and subthreshold drain leakage under a large drain bias.