AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors with transparent gates by Al-doped ZnO

AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors （HEMTs） with Al-doped ZnO （AZO） transparent gate electrodes are fabricated, and Ni/Au/Ni-gated HEMTs are produced in comparison. The AZO-gated HEMTs show good DC characteristics and Schottky rectifying characteristics, and the gate electrodes achieve excellent transparencies. Compared with Ni/Au/Ni-gated HEMTs, AZO-gated HEMTs show a low saturation current, high threshold voltage, high Schottky barrier height, and low gate reverse leakage current. Due to the higher gate resistivity, AZO-gated HEMTs exhibit a current-gain cutoff frequency （fT） of 10 GHz and a power gain cutoff frequency （fmax） of 5 GHz, and lower maximum oscillation frequency than Ni/Au/Ni-gated HEMTs. Moreover, the C-V characteristics are measured and the gate interface characteristics of the AZO-gated devices are investigated by a C-V dual sweep.     

1000 V p-GaN混合阳极AlGaN/GaN二极管

GaN材料具有优异的电学特性,如大的禁带宽度(3.4 eV)、高击穿场强(3.3 MV/cm)和高电子迁移率(600 cm~2/(V·s)). AlGaN/GaN异质结由于压电极化和自发极化效应,产生高密度(1×10~(13)cm~(-2))和高迁移率(2000 cm~2/(V·s))的二维电子气(2DEG),在未来的功率系统中, AlGaN/GaN二极管具有极大的应用前景.二极管的开启电压和击穿电压是影响其损耗和功率处理能力的关键参数,本文提出了一种新型的具有高阻盖帽层(high-resistance-cap-layer, HRCL)的p-GaN混合阳极AlGaN/GaN二极管来优化其开启电压和击穿特性.在p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN材料结构基础上,通过自对准的氢等离子体处理技术,在沟道区域形成高阻盖帽层改善电场分布,提高击穿电压,同时在阳极区域保留p-GaN结构,用于耗尽下方的二维电子气,调控开启电压.制备的p-GaN混合阳极(p-GaN HRCL)二极管在阴阳极间距Lac为10μm时,击穿电压大于1 kV,开启电压+1.2 V.实验结果表明, p-GaN混合阳极和高阻GaN盖帽层的引入,有效改善AlGaN/GaN肖特基势垒二极管电学性能.     

增强型AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管高温退火研究

深入研究了两种增强型AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)高温退火前后的直流特性变化.槽栅增强型AlGaN/GaN HEMT在500 ℃ N₂中退火5 min后,阈值电压由0.12 V正向移动到0.57 V,器件Schottky反向栅漏电流减小一个数量级.F注入增强型AlGaN/GaN HEMT在 400 ℃ N₂中退火2 min后,器件阈值电压由0.23 V负向移动到-0.69 V,栅泄漏电流明显增大.槽栅增强型器件退火过程中Schottky有效势垒     

Normally-off AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors with in-situ AlN gate insulator

AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors (HFETs) with p-GaN cap layer are developed for normally-off operation, in which an in-situ grown AlN layer is utilized as the gate insulator. Compared with the SiN_x gate insulator, the AlN/p-GaN interface presents a more obvious energy band bending and a wider depletion region, which helps to positively shift the threshold voltage. In addition, the relatively large conduction band offset of AlN/p-GaN is beneficial to suppress the gate leakage current and enhance the gate breakdown voltage. Owing to the introduction of AlN layer, normally-off p-GaN capped AlGaN/GaN HFET with a threshold voltage of 4 V and a gate swing of 13 V is realized. Furthermore, the field-effect mobility is approximately 1500 cm²·V^-1·s^-1 in the 2DEG channel, implying a good device performance.     

Effect of gate length on breakdown voltage in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor

The effects of gate length L_G on breakdown voltage VBRare investigated in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors(HEMTs) with L_G= 1 μm~20 μm. With the increase of L_G, VBRis first increased, and then saturated at LG= 3 μm. For the HEMT with L_G= 1 μm, breakdown voltage VBRis 117 V, and it can be enhanced to 148 V for the HEMT with L-_G= 3 μm. The gate length of 3 μm can alleviate the buffer-leakage-induced impact ionization compared with the gate length of 1 μm, and the suppression of the impact ionization is the reason for improving the breakdown voltage.A similar suppression of the impact ionization exists in the HEMTs with LG 3 μm. As a result, there is no obvious difference in breakdown voltage among the HEMTs with LG= 3 μm~20 μm, and their breakdown voltages are in a range of 140 V–156 V.     

用逆压电极化模型对AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管电流崩塌现象的研究

通过自洽求解一维Poisson-Schrdinger方程,模拟了AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管在工作时等效外电场对AlGaN/GaN异质结沟道处二维电子气(2DEG)浓度的影响.分析了逆压电极化效应的作用,从正-逆压电极化现象出发,提出了逆压电极化模型.计算结果显示：逆压电极化明显影响2DEG性质,当Al组分x=0.3,AlGaN层厚度为20 nm时,不考虑逆压电极化,2DEG浓度为1.53×10¹³cm^-2;当等效外电压分别为10和15V 关键词： AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管 Poisson-Schrdinger方程 逆压电极化模型 电流崩塌     

Low dose 60Co gamma-irradiation effects on electronic carrier transport and DC characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

The impact of internal irradiation with secondary Compton electrons, generated by gamma-photons, on the characteristics of III-N/GaN-based devices was explored. N-channel AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to gamma-radiation from a ⁶⁰Co source for doses up to 600?Gy. Temperature-dependent electron beam-induced current (EBIC) was employed to measure minority carrier transport properties. For low doses below ～250?Gy, the minority carrier diffusion length in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is shown to increase by about 40%. This increase is likely due to longer minority carrier lifetime induced by internal Compton electron irradiation. An associated decrease in activation energy, extracted from temperature-dependent EBIC, was also found. The obtained increase in transconductance and decrease in gate leakage current indicate an improvement in performance of the devices after low doses of irradiation. For high doses of gamma-irradiation, above ～300?Gy, the performance of HEMTs showed a deterioration. The deterioration results from the onset of increased carrier scattering due to additional radiation-induced defects, as is translated in a decrease of minority carrier diffusion length.     

Fabrication and characterization of V-gate AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

V-gate GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are fabricated and investigated systematically. A V-shaped recess geometry is obtained using an improved Si3N4 recess etching technology. Compared with standard HEMTs, the fabricated V-gate HEMTs exhibit a 17% higher peak extrinsic transconductance due to a narrowed gate foot. Moreover, both the gate leakage and current dispersion are dramatically suppressed simultaneously, although a slight degradation of frequency response is observed. Based on a two-dimensional electric field simulation using Silvaco "ATLAS" for both standard HEMTs and V-gate HEMTs, the relaxation in peak electric field at the gate edge is identified as the predominant factor leading to the superior performance of V-gate HEMTs.     

高场应力及栅应力下AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件退化研究

采用不同的高场应力和栅应力对AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件进行直流应力测试,实验发现：应力后器件主要参数如饱和漏电流,跨导峰值和阈值电压等均发生了明显退化,而且这些退化还是可以完全恢复的;高场应力下,器件特性的退化随高场应力偏置电压的增加和应力时间的累积而增大;对于不同的栅应力,相对来说,脉冲栅应力和开态栅应力下器件特性的退化比关态栅应力下的退化大.对不同应力前后器件饱和漏电流,跨导峰值和阈值电压的分析表明,AlGaN势垒层陷阱俘获沟道热电子以及栅极电子在栅漏间电场的作用下填充虚栅中的表面态是这些不同应 关键词： AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件 表面态(虚栅) 势垒层陷阱 应力     

Al2O3绝缘栅AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMT器件温度特性研究

采用原子层淀积(ALD)实现了10 nm Al2O3为栅介质的高性能AlGaN/GaN金属氧化物半导体高电子迁移率晶体管(MOS-HEMT).通过对MOS-HEMT器件和传统MES-HEMT器件室温特性的对比,验证了新型MOS-HEMT器件饱和电流和泄漏电流的优势.通过分析MOS-HEMT器件在30-180℃之间特性的变化规律,与国内报道的传统MES-HEMT器件随温度退化程度对比,得出了器件饱和电流和跨导的退化主要是由于输运特性退化造成的,证明栅介质减小了引入AlGaN界面的表面态是提高特性的重要原因.     

具有p-GaN岛状埋层耐压结构的横向AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管

GaN基高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)相对较低的击穿电压严重限制了其大功率应用.为了进一步改善器件的击穿特性,通过在n-GaN外延缓冲层中引入六个等间距p-GaN岛掩埋缓冲层(PIBL)构成p-n结,提出一种基于p-GaN埋层结构的新型高耐压AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件结构.Sentaurus TCAD仿真结果表明,在关态高漏极电压状态下,p-GaN埋层引入的多个反向p-n结不仅能够有效调制PIBL AlGaN/GaN HEMT的表面电场和体电场分布,而且对于缓冲层泄漏电流有一定的抑制作用,这保证了栅漏间距为10μm的PIBL HEMT能够达到超过1700 V的高击穿电压(BV),是常规结构AlGaN/GaN HEMT击穿电压(580 V)的3倍.同时,PIBL结构AlGaN/GaN HEMT的特征导通电阻仅为1.47 m?·cm~2,因此获得了高达1966 MW·cm~(-2)的品质因数(FOM=BV~2/R_(on,sp)).相比于常规的AlGaN/GaN HEMT,基于新型p-GaN埋岛结构的HEMT器件在保持较低特征导通电阻的同时具有更高的击穿电压,这使得该结构在高功率电力电子器件领域具有很好的应用前景.     

Neutron irradiation effects on AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to 1 MeV neutron irradiation at a neutron fluence of 1 × 10¹⁵ cm^-2. The dc characteristics of the devices, such as the drain saturation current and the maximum transconductance, decreased after neutron irradiation. The gate leakage currents increased obviously after neutron irradiation. However, the rf characteristics, such as the cut-off frequency and the maximum frequency, were hardly affected by neutron irradiation. The AlGaN/GaN heterojunctions have been employed for the better understanding of the degradation mechanism. It is shown in the Hall measurements and capacitance-voltage tests that the mobility and concentration of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) decreased after neutron irradiation. There was no evidence of the full-width at half-maximum of X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve changing after irradiation, so the dislocation was not influenced by neutron irradiation. It is concluded that the point defects induced in AlGaN and GaN by neutron irradiation are the dominant mechanisms responsible for performance degradations of AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices.     

Influence of Schottky drain contacts on the strained AlGaN barrier layer of AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

Rectangular Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) with different gate contact areas and conventional AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs as control were both fabricated with same size. It was found there is a significant difference between Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs and the control group both in drain series resistance and in two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) electron mobility in the gate-drain channel. We attribute this to the different influence of Ohmic drain contacts and Schottky drain contacts on the strained AlGaN barrier layer. For conventional AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs, annealing drain Ohmic contacts gives rise to a strain variation in the AlGaN barrier layer between the gate contacts and the drain contacts, and results in strong polarization Coulomb field scattering in this region. In Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs, the strain in the AlGaN barrier layer is distributed more regularly.     

AlGaN/GaN异质结Ni/Au肖特基表面处理及退火研究

采用O₂等离子体及HF溶液对AlGaN/GaN异质结材料进行表面处理后，Ni/Au肖特基接触特性比未处理有了明显改善，反向泄漏电流减小3个数量级.对制备的肖特基接触进行200—600℃ 5min的N₂气氛退火，发现退火冷却后肖特基反向泄漏电流随退火温度增大进一步减小.N₂气中600℃退火后肖特基二极管C-V特性曲线在不同频率下一致性变好，这表明退火中Ni向材料表面扩散减小了表面陷阱密度；C-V特性曲线随退火温度增大向右移动，从二维电子气耗尽电压绝对值减小反映了肖特基势垒的提高. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN 肖特基接触 表面处理 退火     

Ni/Au Schottky gate oxidation and BCB passivation for high-breakdown-voltage AlGaN/GaN HEMT

A new AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) employing Ni/Au Schottky gate oxidation and benzocyclobutene (BCB) passivation is fabricated in order to increase a breakdown voltage and forward drain current. The Ni/Au Schottky gate metal with a thickness of 50/300 nm is oxidized under oxygen ambient at 500 C and the highly resistive NiO is formed at the gate edge. The leakage current of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is decreased from 4.94 μA to 3.34 nA due to the formation of NiO. The BCB, which has a low dielectric constant, successfully passivates AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by suppressing electron injection into surface states. The BCB passivation layer has a low capacitance, so BCB passivation increases the switching speed of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs compared with silicon nitride passivation, which has a high dielectric constant. The forward drain current of a BCB-passivated device is 199 mA /mm, while that of an unpassivated device is 172 mA /mm due to the increase in two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) charge.     

High temperature characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Direct current (DC) and pulsed measurements are performed to determine the degradation mechanisms of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) under high temperature. The degradation of the DC characteristics is mainly attributed to the reduction in the density and the mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). The pulsed measurements indicate that the trap assisted tunneling is the dominant gate leakage mechanism in the temperature range of interest. The traps in the barrier layer become active as the temperature increases, which is conducive to the electron tunneling between the gate and the channel. The enhancement of the tunneling results in the weakening of the current collapse effects, as the electrons trapped by the barrier traps can escape more easily at the higher temperature.     

AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管漏电流退化机理研究

本文首先制备了与AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管 (HEMT) 结构与特性等效的AlGaN/GaN异质结肖特基二极管, 采用步进应力测试比较了不同栅压下器件漏电流的变化情况, 然后基于电流-电压和电容-电压测试验证了退化前后漏电流的传输机理, 并使用失效分析技术光发射显微镜 (EMMI) 观测器件表面的光发射, 研究了漏电流的时间依赖退化机理. 实验结果表明: 在栅压高于某临界值后, 器件漏电流随时间开始增加, 同时伴有较大的噪声. 将极化电场引入电流与电场的依赖关系后, 器件退化前后的 log(I_FT/E)与√E 都遵循良好的线性关系, 表明漏电流均由电子Frenkel-Poole (FP) 发射主导. 退化后 log(I_FT/E)与√E 曲线斜率的减小, 以及利用EMMI在栅边缘直接观察到了与缺陷存在对应关系的“热点”, 证明了漏电流退化的机理是: 高电场在AlGaN层中诱发了新的缺陷, 而缺陷密度的增加导致了FP发射电流I_FT的增加. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管 漏电流 退化机理     

Electric field driven plasmon dispersion in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

We present a theoretical study on the electric field driven plasmon dispersion of the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs).By introducing a drifted Fermi–Dirac distribution,we calculate the transport properties of the 2DEG in the AlGaN/GaN interface by employing the balance-equation approach based on the Boltzmann equation.Then,the nonequilibrium Fermi–Dirac function is obtained by applying the calculated electron drift velocity and electron temperature.Under random phase approximation(RPA),the electric field driven plasmon dispersion is investigated.The calculated results indicate that the plasmon frequency is dominated by both the electric field and the angle between wavevector and electric field.Importantly,the plasmon frequency could be tuned by the applied source–drain bias voltage besides the gate voltage(change of the electron density).     

X-band AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with high microwave power performance

An X-band AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) on SiC substrate with high microwave power performances has been achieved. Its small-signal characteristics with a gate-length of 0.4 μm showed a unity current gain cut-off frequency (fT) of 22 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) of 65 GHz. The GaN HEMT device with a gate width of 1 mm exhibited a continuous-wave saturated output power of 10.2 W and a linear gain of 14.8 dB at 8 GHz, and successfully achieved the power-added efficiency ...     

Time-dependent degradation of threshold voltage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

This paper gives a detailed analysis of the time-dependent degradation of the threshold voltage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs) submitted to off-state stress. The threshold voltage shows a positive shift in the early stress, then turns to a negative shift. The negative shift of the threshold voltage seems to have a long recovery time. A model related with the balance of electron trapping and detrapping induced by shallow donors and deep acceptors is proposed to explain this degradation mode.