Planar doped barrier transferred electron oscillator

A transferred electron semiconductor device comprising, in combination:

• an anode region including a substrate of a first conductivity type semiconductor material having a high dopant concentration and a buffer layer of said first conductivity type and high dopant concentration;
• a drift region of semiconductor material of said first conductivity type having a relatively low dopant concentration formed on said anode region buffer layer, said drift region upon the application of an energizing potential of a predetermined magnitude having a differential negative resistance due to the transferred electron effect caused by a field induced transfer of conduction band electrons from a relatively low energy high mobility low satellite valley to a relatively higher energy low mobility upper satellite valley;
• a cathode region including a planar doped barrier electron injection region contiguous to said drift region including a first layer of said first conductivity type of high dopant concentration, a second layer of substantially undoped semiconductor material on said first layer, a third relatively thin highly doped layer of a second conductivity type on said second layer, a fourth substantially undoped layer on said third layer, and a fifth highly doped layer of said first conductivity type on said fourth layer, said injection region establishing a controllable potential barrier and being operable to effect a transfer of electrons from said lower satellite valley to said upper satellite valley when said barrier is exceeded and thereafter inject said electrons into said drift region;
• and
• means for applying said energizing potential between said anode and said cathode regions.