Germanium Epitaxial Tunnel Diodes

ABSTRACT

The present paper describes the work done concerning the development of germanium epitaxial tunnel diodes in the Solid State Physics Laboratory. The technique consists essentially of growing a thin layer of P⁺ germanium on N⁺ substrates. Scribing and mesa etching of epitaxially grown slices yield a number of identical devices from one slice. This is a great advantage over the alloying technique where each diode has to be individually fabricated. The paper describes the liquid epitaxial growth technique employed and the mesa etching technique which has yielded tunnel diodes in various peak-current ranges. Results on tunnel diode units obtained are discussed.