High-electric-field-stress-induced degradation of SiN passivated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are fabricated by employing SiN passivation, this paper investigates the degradation due to the high-electric-field stress. After the stress, a recoverable degradation has been found, consisting of the decrease of saturation drain current I_Dsat, maximal transconductance g_m, and the positive shift of threshold voltage V_TH at high drain-source voltage V_DS. The high-electric-field stress degrades the electric characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs because the high field increases the electron trapping at the surface and in AlGaN barrier layer. The SiN passivation of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs decreases the surface trapping and 2DEG depletion a little during the high-electric-field stress. After the hot carrier stress with V_DS=20 V and V_GS=0 V applied to the device for 10⁴ sec, the SiN passivation decreases the stress-induced degradation of I_Dsat from 36% to 30%. Both on-state and pulse-state stresses produce comparative decrease of I_Dsat, which shows that although the passivation is effective in suppressing electron trapping in surface states, it does not protect the device from high-electric-field degradation in nature. So passivation in conjunction with other technological solutions like cap layer, prepassivation surface treatments, or field-plate gate to weaken high-electric-field degradation should be adopted.     

AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管中kink效应的半经验模型

初步分析了AlGaN/GaN 器件上的kink效应. 在直流模型的基础上, 建立了AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管中kink效应的半经验模型, 并加入了kink效应发生的漏源偏压与栅源偏压的关系. 该模型得出较为准确的模拟结果, 可用来判断kink效应的发生和电流的变化量. 最后, 我们采用模型仿真结合实验分析的方法, 对kink效应进行了一定的物理研究, 结果表明碰撞电离对kink效应的发生有一定的促进作用.     

AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管肖特基高温退火机理研究

在不同应力条件下,研究了AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管高温退火前后的电流崩塌、栅泄漏电流以及击穿电压的变化.结果表明,AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管通过肖特基高温退火以后,器件的特性得到很大的改善.利用电镜扫描(SEM)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)对高温退火前、后的肖特基接触界面进行深入分析,发现器件经过高温退火后,Ni和AlGaN层之间介质的去除,并且AlGaN材料表面附近的陷阱减少,使得肖特基有效势垒提高,从而提高器件的电学特性. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管 肖特基接触 界面陷阱     

Recessed-gate quasi-enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with oxygen plasma treatment

In this paper,the enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMT combined with the low damage recessed-gate etching and the optimized oxygen plasma treatment was fabricated.Scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectrometer(SEM/EDS) method and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) method were used to confirm the formation of oxides.Based on the experimental results,the obtained enhancement-mode HEMT exhibited a threshold voltage of 0.5 V,a high peak transconductance of 210 mS/mm,and a maximum drain current of 610 mA/mm at the gate bias of 4 V.Meanwhile,the on/off current ratio of enhancement-mode HEMT was as high as 10~8,drain induced barrier lowering(DIBL) was as low as 5 raV/V,and subthreshold swing(SS) of 80 mV/decade was obtained.Compared with the conventional HEMT,the Schottky reverse current of enhancement-mode HEMT was three orders of magnitude lower,and the off-state breakdown voltage of which was higher.In addition,a power gain cutoff frequency(/max) of the enhancement-mode HEMT was larger than that of the conventional one.     

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.     

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.     

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).     

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     

Enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN high electronic mobility transistors with thin barrier

An enhancement-mode (E-mode) AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMTs) was fabricated with 15-nm AlGaN barrier layer. E-mode operation was achieved by using fluorine plasma treatment and post-gate rapid thermal annealing. The thin barrier depletion-HEMTs with a threshold voltage typically around --1.7 V, which is higher than that of the 22-nm barrier depletion-mode HEMTs (--3.5 V). Therefore, the thin barrier is emerging as an excellent candidate to realize the enhancement-mode operation. With 0.6-μ m gate length, the devices treated by fluorine plasma for 150-W RF power at 150 s exhibited a threshold voltage of 1.3 V. The maximum drain current and maximum transconductance are 300 mA/mm, and 177 mS/mm, respectively. Compared with the 22-nm barrier E-mode devices, V_T of the thin barrier HEMTs is much more stable under the gate step-stress.     

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

Self-heating in 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 AlGaN/GaN HEMT is estimated from the calibration curve of 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 ℃ 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.     

Electric-stress reliability and current collapse of different thickness SiNx passivated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

This paper investigates the impact of electrical degradation and current collapse on different thickness SiNx passivated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors.It finds that higher thickness SiNx passivation can significantly improve the high-electric-field reliability of a device.The degradation mechanism of the SiNx passivation layer under ON-state stress has also been discussed in detail.Under the ON-state stress,the strong electric-field led to degradation of SiNx passivation located in the gate-drain region.As the thickness of SiNx passivation increases,the density of the surface state will be increased to some extent.Meanwhile,it is found that the high NH 3 flow in the plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition process could reduce the surface state and suppress the current collapse.     

开态应力下电压和电流对AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管的退化作用研究

通过采集等功率的两种不同开态直流应力作用下AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMTs)漏源电流输出特性、源区和漏区大信号寄生电阻、转移特性、阈值电压随应力时间的变化, 并使用光发射显微镜观察器件漏电流情况, 研究了开态应力下电压和电流对AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管的退化作用. 结果表明, 低电压大电流应力下器件退化很少, 高电压大电流下器件退化较明显. 高电压是HEMTs退化的主要因素, 栅漏之间高电场引起的逆压电效应对参数的永久性退化起决定性作用. 除此之外, 器件表面损坏部位的显微图像表明低电压大电流下器件失效是由于局部电流密度过高, 出现热斑导致器件损伤引起的.     

High-field-induced electron detrapping in An AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor

A step stress test is carried out to study the reliability characteristics of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor(HEMT).An anomalous critical drain-to-gate voltage with a negative temperature coefficient is observed in the stress sequence,beyond which the HEMT device starts to recover from degradation induced by early lower voltage stress.While the performance degradation featuring the drain current slump stems from electron trapping in the surface or bulk states during low-to-medium bias stress,the recovery is attributed to high field induced electron detrapping.The carrier detrapping mechanism could be helpful for lessening the trapping-related performance degradation of a GaN-based HEMT.     

Significant performance enhancement in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor by high-κ organic dielectric

The electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with and without high-κ organic dielectrics are investigated. The maximum drain current I_{D max} and the maximum transconductance g_{m max} of the organic dielectric/AlGaN/GaN structure can be enhanced by 74.5%, and 73.7% compared with those of the bare AlGaN/GaN HEMT, respectively. Both the threshold voltage V_T and g_{m max} of the dielectric/AlGaN/GaN HEMT are strongly dielectric-constant-dependent. Our results suggest that it is promising to significantly improve the performance of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT by introducing the high-κ organic dielectric.     

Influence of drain bias on the electron mobility in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

Using measured capacitance-voltage curves and current-voltage characteristics for the AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors with different gate lengths and drain-to-source distances,the influence of drain bias on the electron mobility is investigated.It is found that below the knee voltage the longitudinal optical(LO) phonon scattering and interface roughness scattering are dominant for the sample with a large ratio of gate length to drain-to-source distance(here 4/5),and the polarization Coulomb field scattering is dominant for the sample with a small ratio(here 1/5).However,the above polarization Coulomb field scattering is weakened in the sample with a small drain-to-source distance(here 20 μm) compared with the one with a large distance(here 100 μm).This is due to the induced strain in the AlGaN layer caused by the drain bias.     

Breakdown voltage analysis of Al0.25Ga0.75N/GaN high electron mobility transistors with partial silicon doping in the AlGaN layer

In this paper,two-dimensional electron gas（2DEG） regions in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors（HEMTs） are realized by doping partial silicon into the AlGaN layer for the first time.A new electric field peak is introduced along the interface between the AlGaN and GaN buffer by the electric field modulation effect due to partial silicon positive charge.The high electric field near the gate for the complete silicon doping structure is effectively decreased,which makes the surface electric field uniform.The high electric field peak near the drain results from the potential difference between the surface and the depletion regions.Simulated breakdown curves that are the same as the test results are obtained for the first time by introducing an acceptor-like trap into the N-type GaN buffer.The proposed structure with partial silicon doping is better than the structure with complete silicon doping and conventional structures with the electric field plate near the drain.The breakdown voltage is improved from 296 V for the conventional structure to 400 V for the proposed one resulting from the uniform surface electric field.     

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.     

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     

Novel model of a AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor based on an artificial neural network

In this paper we present a novel approach to modeling AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor(HEMT) with an artificial neural network(ANN).The AlGaN/GaN HEMT device structure and its fabrication process are described.The circuit-based Neuro-space mapping(neuro-SM) technique is studied in detail.The EEHEMT model is implemented according to the measurement results of the designed device,which serves as a coarse model.An ANN is proposed to model AlGaN/GaN HEMT based on the coarse model.Its optimization is performed.The simulation results from the model are compared with the measurement results.It is shown that the simulation results obtained from the ANN model of AlGaN/GaN HEMT are more accurate than those obtained from the EEHEMT model.