Simulation of polarization effects in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction

Because of their large band-gap, large high-field electron velocity, large breakdownfield, and large thermal conductivity, GaN and its heterojunction with AlGaN and InGaNhave foreseeable potential in the applications of high-power/temperature electronics, andoptoelectronic devices operative in UV and visible wavelength. Polarization inducedelectric field can reach the magnitude of ~MV/cm1,2]. For AlGaN/GaN based FETs theconcentration of sheet carrier induced by polarization in the cha…

Simulation of polarization effects in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction

A method for introducing polarization effects in the simulation of GaN-based heterojunction devices is proposed. A δ doping layer is inserted at the interface of heterojunction and the ionized donors or acceptors act as polarization induced fixed charges. Thus polarization effects can be taken into account in a traditional device simulator. Ga-face and N-face single AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are simulated, and the simulation results show that carrier confinement takes place only in the former structure while not in the latter one. The sheet density of free electrons at the interface of Ga-face AlGaN/GaN increases with the Al composition and the thickness of AlGaN. The consistence of simulation results with the experiments and calculations reported elsewhere shows that this method can effectively introduce polarization effects in the simulation of GaN-based heterojunction devices.