SHORT-CHANNEL EFFECTS AND DRAIN-INDUCED BARRIER LOWERING IN NANOMETER-SCALE GAAS-MESFETS

Short-channel effects in GaAs MESFET's are investigated. MESFET's were fabricated with gate lengths in the range of 40 to 300 nm with GaAs and AlGaAs buffer layers. The MESFET's were characterized by dc transconductance, output conductance, and subthreshold measurements. This work focuses on overcoming the short-channel effect of large output conductance by the inclusion of an AlGaAs buffer layer, and identifying the benefit the AlGaAs buffer affords for reducing subthreshold current, including the effect of drain-induced barrier lowering. The design yielded 300-nm gate-length MESFET's with excellent suppression of the major short-channel effects.