The BARITT diode (barrier injection transit-time) is a high frequency
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
component of
microelectronics
Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-sc ...
. A related component is the DOVETT diode. The BARITT diode uses injection and transit-time properties of
minority carriers
In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is used ...
to produce a
negative resistance
In electronics, negative resistance (NR) is a property of some electrical circuits and devices in which an increase in voltage across the device's terminals results in a decrease in electric current through it.
This is in contrast to an ordi ...
at microwave frequencies. About the biased forward boundary layer, the minority carriers are injected. There is no
avalanche breakdown
Avalanche breakdown (or avalanche effect) is a phenomenon that can occur in both insulating and semiconducting materials. It is a form of electric current multiplication that can allow very large currents within materials which are otherwise good ...
instead. Consequently, both the phase shift and the output power is substantially lower than in an
IMPATT diode An IMPATT diode (impact ionization avalanche transit-time diode) is a form of high-power semiconductor diode used in high-frequency microwave electronics devices. They have negative resistance and are used as oscillators and amplifiers at microwav ...
.
References
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Diodes