Submicron gate GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7AS MESFET's with extremely sharp interfaces (40 Å)

GaAs field-effect transistors (FET's) having a gatelength of 0.7 µm and an Al0.3Ga0.7As buffer layer were fabricated. The structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in a substrate surface temperature range of 580-700°C. Samples grown at 700°C showed excellent pinchoff characteristics, while those grown at the lower end of the temperature spectrum exhibited degraded pinchoff characteristics. Compared to GaAs/GaAs, all of the structures, particularly those grown at 700°C, showed flatter saturation characteristics, especially for large drain voltages. The transconductance near the surface was about 160 mS/mm, regardless of the growth temperature. The saturation velocity of electrons in the channel layer was deduced to be about 1.6 × 107cm/s, again, regardless of the growth temperature. The sharpness of the interface was very dependent on the growth temperature. Sharpnesses of 40, 100, and 550 Å were obtained in structures g own at 700, 640, and 580° C, respectwely. These figures compare with 300 Å obtained in channel layers with a GaAs buffer layer.