Research on the damage effects of high-power microwave on typical RF front-end semiconductor devices

Background High-power microwave coupling via the front-door path represents a primary mechanism for inflicting damage on receiving systems. To gain a deeper understanding of the underlying physics of these interactions, it is essential to investigate the vulnerability of receiver front-end.

Purpose This paper focuses on the damage effects and failure mechanisms of typical RF front-end semiconductor devices when subjected to high-power microwave interference.

Methods First, the fundamental damage and failure mechanisms of semiconductor devices are systematically reviewed. Subsequently, the trends in device damage effects are analyzed with respect to key microwave parameters, specifically pulse width, repetition frequency, and pulse number. Finally, injection experiments are conducted on a typical GaAs HEMT-type low-noise amplifier to observe device behavior under typical microwave parameters.

Results The variation laws governing device damage thresholds in relation to microwave parameters are obtained through experimental characterization. The data reveals distinct correlations between the incident pulse characteristics and the device failure thresholds.

Conclusions It is verified that on the timescale of tens of nanoseconds, the pulse width and the number of pulses are the dominant factors influencing the damage effects on semiconductor devices.