Effects of the strain relaxation of an AlGaN barrier layer induced by various cap layers on the transport properties in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

The strain relaxation of an AlGaN barrier layer may be influenced by a thin cap layer above, and affects the transport properties of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. Compared with the slight strain relaxation found in AlGaN barrier layer without cap layer, it is found that a thin cap layer can induce considerable changes of strain state in the AlGaN barrier layer. The degree of relaxation of the AlGaN layer significantly influences the transport properties of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. It is observed that electron mobility decreases with the increasing degree of relaxation of the AlGaN barrier, which is believed to be the main cause of the deterioration of crystalline quality and morphology on the AlGaN/GaN interface. On the other hand, both GaN and AlN cap layers lead to a decrease in 2DEG density. The reduction of 2DEG caused by the GaN cap layer may be attributed to the additional negative polarization charges formed at the interface between GaN and AlGaN, while the reduction of the piezoelectric effect in the AlGaN layer results in the decrease of 2DEG density in the case of AlN cap layer.     

Low specific on-resistance GaN-based vertical heterostructure field effect transistors with nonuniform doping superjunctions

A novel Ga N-based vertical heterostructure field effect transistor(HFET) with nonuniform doping superjunctions(non-SJ HFET) is proposed and studied by Silvaco-ATLAS,for minimizing the specific on-resistance(R_(on)A) at no expense of breakdown voltage(BV).The feature of non-SJ HFET lies in the nonuniform doping concentration from top to bottom in the n-and p-pillars,which is different from that of the conventional Ga N-based vertical HFET with uniform doping superjunctions(un-SJ HFET).A physically intrinsic mechanism for the nonuniform doping superjunction(non-SJ) to further reduce R_(on)A at no expense of BV is investigated and revealed in detail.The design,related to the structure parameters of non-SJ,is optimized to minimize the R_(on)A on the basis of the same BV as that of un-SJ HFET.Optimized simulation results show that the reduction in R_(on)A depends on the doping concentrations and thickness values of the light and heavy doping parts in non-SJ.The maximum reduction of more than 51% in R_(on)A could be achieved with a BV of 1890 V.These results could demonstrate the superiority of non-SJ HFET in minimizing R_(on)A and provide a useful reference for further developing the Ga N-based vertical HFETs.     

Low power fluorine plasma effects on electrical reliability of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor

The new electrical degradation phenomenon of the AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor(HEMT) treated by low power fluorine plasma is discovered. The saturated current, on-resistance, threshold voltage, gate leakage and breakdown voltage show that each experiences a significant change in a short time stress, and then keeps unchangeable. The migration phenomenon of fluorine ions is further validated by the electron redistribution and breakdown voltage enhancement after off-state stress. These results suggest that the low power fluorine implant ion stays in an unstable state. It causes the electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN HEMT to present early degradation. A new migration and degradation mechanism of the low power fluorine implant ion under the off-stress electrical stress is proposed. The low power fluorine ions would drift at the beginning of the off-state stress, and then accumulate between gate and drain nearby the gate side. Due to the strong electronegativity of fluorine, the accumulation of the front fluorine ions would prevent the subsequent fluorine ions from drifting, thereby alleviating further the degradation of AlGaN/GaN HEMT electrical properties.     

GaN FP-HEMTs中击穿电压与电流崩塌的关系

研究了钝化在抑制电流崩塌的同时，会引起HEMT器件击穿电压的下降.而采用场板结构的AlGaN/GaN场板HEMT器件(FP-HEMT)的击穿电压从46V提高到了148V，表明了场板对提高击穿电压有显著作用(3倍以上).接着，比较了FP-HEMT器件与常规HEMT器件，钝化后HEMT器件在应力前后的电流崩塌程度，得出了采用场板结构比之钝化对器件抑制电流崩塌有更明显作用的结论.从理论上和实验上都表明，采用场板结构能够很好解决提高击穿电压与抑制电流崩塌之间的矛盾. 关键词： GaN 场板 击穿电压 电流崩塌     

Effects of Different Plasma Energy Treatments on n-Type Al0.4Ga0.6N Material

El3ctronic properties, surface chemistry and surface morphology of plasma-treated n-Al0.4Ga0.6N material are studied by electrical contact measurements, atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Although excessive etching can cause the surface roughness to significantly increase, the nitrogen vacancies VN produced by the excessive etching can be compensated for by the negative effects of the rougher surface. Thus, VN produced by excessive etching plays a key role in Ohmic contact of high-A1 content AIGaN and it can reduce Ohmic contact resistance. The effect of rapid thermal annealing on the performance of n-Al0.4Ga0.6N can significantly reduce the etching damage caused by excessive etching.     

Influence of dislocations in the GaN layer on the electrical properties of an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

This paper reports on a comparative study of the spatial distributions of the electrical, optical, and structural properties in an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. Edge dislocation density in the GaN template layer is shown to decrease in the regions of the wafer where the heterostructure sheet resistance increases and the GaN photoluminescence band-edge energy peak shifts to a high wavelength. This phenomenon is found to be attributed to the local compressive strain surrounding edge dislocation, which will generate a local piezoelectric polarization field in the GaN layer in the opposite direction to the piezoelectric polarization field in the AlGaN layer and thus help to increase the two-dimensional electron gas concentration.     

基于量子微扰的AlGaN/GaN异质结波函数半解析求解

基于量子力学微扰理论的分析，得到AlGaN/GaN异质结波函数的半解析模型.给出了模型的理论分析和计算结果.对于相同问题，给出了与差分算法的对照结果.与传统的差分方法相比，半解析方法具有收敛性强、大规模问题计算效率高的特点，更适合作为AlGaN/GaN异质结量子阱的求解算法. 关键词： AlGaN GaN 量子阱 薛定谔方程     

High power-added-efficiency AlGaN/GaN HEMTs fabricated by atomic level controlled etching

An atomic-level controlled etching(ACE)technology is invstigated for the fabrication of recessed gate AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors(HEMTs)with high power added efficiency.We compare the recessed gate HEMTs with conventional etching(CE)based chlorine,Cl₂-only ACE and BCl³/Cl₂ACE,respectively.The mixed radicals of BCl₃/Cl₂were used as the active reactants in the step of chemical modification.For ensuring precise and controllable etching depth and low etching damage,the kinetic energy of argon ions was accurately controlled.These argon ions were used precisely to remove the chemical modified surface atomic layer.Compared to the HEMTs with CE,the characteristics of devices fabricated by ACE are significantly improved,which benefits from significant reduction of etching damage.For BCl₃/Cl₂ACE recessed HEMTs,the load pull test at 17 GHz shows a high power added efficiency(PAE)of 59.8%with an output power density of 1.6 W/mm at Vd=10 V,and a peak PAE of 44.8%with an output power density of 3.2 W/mm at Vd=20 V in a continuous-wave mode.     

Germanium PMOSFETs with Low-Temperature Si2H6 Passivation Featuring High Hole Mobility and Superior Negative Bias Temperature Instability

We investigate negative bias temperature instability （NBTI） on high performance Ge p-channel metal-oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistors （pMOSFETs） with low-temperature Si2H6 passivation. The Ge pMOSFETs exhibit an effective hole mobility of 311 cm2/V.s at an inversion charge density of 2.5 × 1012 cm^-2. NBTI characterization is performed to investigate the linear transconductance （GM,lin） degradation and threshold voltage shift （△VTH） under NBT stress. Ge pMOSFETs with a lOyr lifetime at an operating voltage of -0.72 V are demonstrated. The impact of the Si2H6 passivation temperature is studied. As the passivation temperature increases from 350℃ to 550℃, the degradation of NBTI characteristics, e.g., GM,lin loss, △VTH and an operating voltage for a lifetime of lOyr, is observed.     

Channel temperature determination of a multifinger AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor using a micro-Raman technique

Self-heating in a multifinger AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is investigated by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The device temperature is probed on the die as a function of applied bias. The operating temperature of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT is estimated from the calibration curve of a passively heated AlGaN/GaN structure. A linear increase of junction temperature is observed when direct current dissipated power is increased. When the power dissipation is 12.75 W at a drain voltage of 15 V, a peak temperature of 69.1°C is observed at the gate edge on the drain side of the central finger. The position of the highest temperature corresponds to the high-field region at the gate edge.