A DC TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING GAAS-MESFET THERMAL-RESISTANCE

A novel DC electrical method (DCEM) for measuring the thermal resistance of GaAs MESFETs using the temperature dependence of the gate metal resistivity is described. The method requires a DC current to be passed (end-to-end) through the gate stripe to monitor the average temperature of the channel. The DCEM can measure the average thermal resistance over the entire operating range of a Schottky-gate MESFET using only DC measuring instruments. An example is given showing the thermal resistance of an ion-implanted 0.5-μm GaAs MESFET as a function of DC power dissipation.