Back to results
US 2006/0232347 A1Published application
Gunn diode
AssigneeE2V Technologies (UK) Limited
InventorKeith Newsome
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeE2V Technologies (UK) Limited
InventorKeith Newsome
Estimating the term…
A Gunn diode having axis A consists of appropriately doped layers which, when a suitable voltage is applied, cause a space charge 6 to traverse a transit region 7 at a microwave frequency. In a typical known Gunn diode, the layers 4, 5 and 7 to 9 extend across the full diameter of the diode, and the space charge 6 is usually depicted as being disc-shaped. There is the disadvantage that the d.c. component of the Gunn effect current associated with a desired harmonic frequency causes undesirable heating. According to the invention, the area through which the current can flow through the elongate structure is tailored to favour the harmonic over the d.c. component, utilising the skin effect. Several ways of doing this are described, notably by making the core of the elongate portion non-conducting, for example, by ion implantation or by its removal by etching.
A Gunn diode arranged to be resonant at a fundamental frequency, comprising an elongate portion along which current can flow having contacts at each end, the core of the elongate portion being substantially non-conducting over at least a part of the length of the elongate portion, in which the Gunn diode is also arranged to be resonant at a harmonic of the fundamental frequency
A Gunn diode arranged to be resonant at a fundamental frequency, comprising an elongate portion along which current can flow having contacts at each end, current flow being confined in use to a strip-like region region over at least a part of the length of the elongate portion, in which the Gunn diode is also arranged to be resonant at a harmonic of the fundamental frequency.
A method of fabricating a Gunn diode arranged to be resonant at a harmonic of a fundamental frequency, and having an elongate portion along which current can flow and which has contacts at each end, which comprises the step of producing a non-conducting core over at least a part of the length of the elongate portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.