ENHANCED BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES IN STRAINED INGAAS/GAAS STRUCTURES

The breakdown voltage (V(BD)) in a semiconductor is usually proportional to its band-gap (E(g)) through the dependence of the impact ionization process on the threshold voltage (E(th)). It has recently been suggested that strain can cause E(th) to increase even when E(g) decreases, raising the possibility of narrow band-pp materials with large V(BD). By growing a range of strained InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) pin diode structures and measuring V(BD), we show that the presence of strained InGaAs increases V(BD) confirming that it has a larger E(th) than GaAs.