Impact of Plasma Effects on the High-Frequency Performance of Induced-Base Hot-Electron Transistors

High-frequency performance of an induced-base hot-electron transistor (IBHET) is studied theoretically taking into account the excitation of the standing plasma waves with a linear dispersion law in its quantum well base. It is shown that the frequency-dependent small-signal transconductance of the IBHETs can exhibit sharp resonances. The resonant transconductance can markedly exceed the steady-state transconductance. The resonances can correspond to the terahertz range of frequencies and can be effectively tuned by the collector–base voltage.