Surface potential effect on gate—Drain avalanche breakdown in GaAs MESFET's

The surface potential effect on gate-drain avalanche breakdown in GaAs MESFET's is investigated with a two-dimensional device simulator. It is shown that the surface potential effect changes the potential distribution in GaAs MESFET's drastically and therefore plays an important role in determining drain breakdown voltage. In addition, two device structures producing high breakdown voltages, an offset gate structure and a recessed gate structure, are analyzed.