Channel temperature measurement of GaAs devices using an atomic force microscope

Abstract

We have used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the channel temperature of GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (PHEMTs) and GaAs metal-semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) by employing a temperature sensitive tip. The improvements with this method are to greatly expand the range over which the channel temperature can be measured and to improve the spatial resolution into the submicrometer range. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an accurate, quantitative measurement of the channel temperature of a compound semiconductor device using an AFM.