A microwave method for measuring the low-frequency noise of transistors

Abstract

In the article, we have proposed to use microwave-fluctuation meters resistant to external intense electromagnetic noise in order to measure the low-frequency (LF) noise of microwave transistors working under these conditions. The transistor located on the board is excited by a low-noise microwave generator, the oscillation amplitude of which, being modulated by the LF noise of the transistor, is measured by a microwave spectrum analyzer. The proposed method was tested on GaN/AlGaN heterotransistors, in whose channels the electron density was formed by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization. In addition to experimental testing, a theoretical justification for the method is presented. We obtained conditions in which the normalized spectra of oscillation amplitude fluctuations were similar to the normalized LF noise of the transistor current.

Keywords

• low frequency noise
• microwave transistor
• fluctuations of microwave oscillations
• gan/algan heterostructure