In-situ study of the degradation behaviour of GaAs MESFETs for hi-rel applications

Abstract

In this paper, an accelerated ageing experiment on GaAs MESFET's is presented applying a novel in-situ technique on a reduced time scale. The ageing behaviour of several de parameters is monitored continuously while thermoelectrical stress is applied. As different ageing processes leave distinct fingerprints in the degradation curves, the increased measurement resolution and data density, which are typical for in-situ measurements, provide additional information compared with conventional ex-situ tests. The result of the numerical analysis of the experimental data is presented, which provide an initial basis for comparison with conventional data and lifetime prediction.