Abstract
Comparative photoresponsive current-volt-age characteristics of n-channel PHEMT and MESFET on GaAs substrate. with (W/L)=200${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$/1${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ of gates, are reported as a function of electro-optical stimulation (P\ulcorner, λ=830nm) for the first time as far as we know. Significantly different photoresponses are observed in MESFET and PHEMT, mainly due to different optoelectronic mechanisms in the formation and current conduction of channel carriers. Under high optical power, high photoresponsity with a strong non-linearity with P\ulcorner, predominantly due to a parallel conduction via a heavily doped Al\ulcornerGa\ulcornerAs donor layer, was observed in PHEMT while the optically induced drain current has been very small but monotonically increasing with optical stimulation in GaAs MESFET. We also investigated differences in optically stimulated gate leakage currents and photonic gate responses on gate voltage and drain voltage as a function of P\ulcorner. Based on the drain and gate responses to electro-optical stimulation. PHEMTs are expected to be a better candidate for high performance photonically responsive microwave device compared with MESFETs.
