Low-leakage-current AIGaN/GaN HEMTs on Si substrates with partially Mg-doped GaN buffer layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

High-performance low-leakage-current A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors （HEMTs） on silicon （111） sub- strates grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD） with a novel partially Magnesium （Mg）-doped GaN buffer scheme have been fabricated successfully. The growth and DC results were compared between Mg-doped GaN buffer layer and a unintentionally onμe. A 1μ m gate-length transistor with Mg-doped buffer layer exhibited an OFF-state drain leakage current of 8.3 × 10-8 A/mm, to our best knowledge, which is the lowest value reported for MOCVD-grown A1GaN/GaN HEMTs on Si featuring the same dimension and structure. The RF characteristics of 0.25-μ m gate length T-shaped gate HEMTs were also investigated.     

AlGaN表面坑状缺陷及GaN缓冲层位错缺陷对AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应的影响

利用金属有机气相外延(MOVPE)技术生长了具有不同AlGaN表面坑状缺陷和GaN缓冲层位错缺陷密度的AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)样品,并对比研究了两种缺陷对器件栅、漏延迟电流崩塌效应的影响.栅延迟测试表明,AlGaN表面坑状缺陷会引起栅延迟电流崩塌效应和源漏电阻的增加,而且表面坑状缺陷越多,栅延迟电流崩塌程度和源漏电阻的增加越明显.漏延迟测试显示,AlGaN表面坑状缺陷对漏延迟电流崩塌影响不大,而GaN缓冲层位错缺陷主要影响漏延迟电流崩塌.研究结果表明,AlGaN表面坑状缺陷和Ga 关键词： AlGaN/GaN HEMT 电流崩塌 坑状缺陷 位错缺陷     

Improved breakdown voltage of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown on Si substrates using partially Mg-doped GaN buffer layer by MOCVD

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs) were grown on Si substrates by MOCVD.In the HEMT structure,a 1 μm GaN buffer layer was partially doped with Mg in an attempt to increase the resistivity and minimize the buffer leakage.The AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown on undoped and partially Mg-doped GaN buffer layers were processed and the DC characteristics of the devices were characterized for comparing the effect of Mg doping.For the device with the partially Mg-doped GaN buffer layer,a lower drain leakage current density of 55.8 nA/mm,a lower gate leakage current density of 2.73 μA/mm,and a higher off-state breakdown voltage of 104 V were achieved with device dimensions Lg/Wg/Lgs/Lgd=1/10/1/1 μm,better than the device with the undoped GaN buffer layer,which has a higher drain leakage current density of 9.2 μA/mm,a higher gate leakage current density of 91.8 μA/mm,and a lower off-state breakdown voltage of 87 V with the same device dimensions.     

Influence of AlN buffer layer thickness on structural properties of GaN epilayer grown on Si (111) substrate with AlGaN interlayer

We present the growth of GaN epilayer on Si (111) substrate with a single AlGaN interlayer sandwiched between the GaN epilayer and AlN buffer layer by using the metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. The influence of the AlN buffer layer thickness on structural properties of the GaN epilayer has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy and high-resolution x-ray diffraction. It is found that an AlN buffer layer with the appropriate thickness plays an important role in increasing compressive strain and improving crystal quality during the growth of AlGaN interlayer, which can introduce a more compressive strain into the subsequent grown GaN layer, and reduce the crack density and threading dislocation density in GaN film.     

Schottky forward current transport mechanisms in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs over a wide temperature range

The behavior of Schottky contacts in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs) is investigated by temperature-dependent current–voltage(T –I–V) measurements from 300 K to 473 K. The ideality factor and barrier height determined based on the thermionic emission(TE) theory are found to be strong functions of temperature, while present a great deviation from the theoretical value, which can be expounded by the barrier height inhomogeneities. In order to determine the forward current transport mechanisms, the experimental data are analyzed using numerical fitting method,considering the temperature-dependent series resistance. It is observed that the current flow at room temperature can be attributed to the tunneling mechanism, while thermionic emission current gains a growing proportion with an increase in temperature. Finally, the effective barrier height is derived based on the extracted thermionic emission component, and an evaluation of the density of dislocations is made from the I–V characteristics, giving a value of 1.49 × 107cm-2.     

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.     

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.     

Breakdown mechanisms in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with different GaN channel thickness values

In this paper,the off-state breakdown characteristics of two different AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors（HEMTs）,featuring a 50-nm and a 150-nm GaN thick channel layer,respectively,are compared.The HEMT with a thick channel exhibits a little larger pinch-off drain current but significantly enhanced off-state breakdown voltage(SV_off).Device simulation indicates that thickening the channel increases the drain-induced barrier lowering（DIBL） but reduces the lateral electric field in the channel and buffer underneath the gate.The increase of BV_off in the thick channel device is due to the reduction of the electric field.These results demonstrate that it is necessary to select an appropriate channel thickness to balance DIBL and BV_off in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.     

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown on silicon (001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

We report the realization of an AlGaN/GaN HEMT on silicon (001) substrate with noticeably better transport and electrical characteristics than previously reported. The heterostructure has been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The 2D electron gas formed at the AlGaN/GaN interface exhibits a sheet carrier density of 8×10¹² cm⁻² and a Hall mobility of 1800 cm²/V s at room temperature. High electron mobility transistors with a gate length of 4 μm have been processed and DC characteristics have been achieved. A maximum drain current of more than 500 mA/mm and a transconductance g_m of 120 mS/mm have been obtained. These results are promising and open the way for making efficient AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices on Si(001).     

A novel Si-rich SiN bilayer passivation with thin-barrier AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for high performance millimeter-wave applications

We demonstrate a novel Si-rich SiN bilayer passivation technology for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with thin-barrier to minimize surface leakage current to enhance the breakdown voltage. The bilayer SiN with 20-nm Si-rich SiN and 100-nm Si$_{3}$N$_{4}$ was deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) after removing 20-nm SiO$_{2}$ pre-deposition layer. Compared to traditional Si$_{3}$N$_{4}$ passivation for thin-barrier AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, Si-rich SiN bilayer passivation can suppress the current collapse ratio from 18.54% to 8.40%. However, Si-rich bilayer passivation leads to a severer surface leakage current, so that it has a low breakdown voltage. The 20-nm SiO$_{2}$ pre-deposition layer can protect the surface of HEMTs in fabrication process and decrease Ga-O bonds, resulting in a lower surface leakage current. In contrast to passivating Si-rich SiN directly, devices with the novel Si-rich SiN bilayer passivation increase the breakdown voltage from 29 V to 85 V. Radio frequency (RF) small-signal characteristics show that HEMTs with the novel bilayer SiN passivation leads to $f_{\rm T}/f_{\rm max}$ of 68 GHz/102 GHz. At 30 GHz and $V_{\rm DS} = 20$ V, devices achieve a maximum $P_{\rm out}$ of 5.2 W/mm and a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 42.2%. These results indicate that HEMTs with the novel bilayer SiN passivation can have potential applications in the millimeter-wave range.     

Effects of DC and AC stress on the VT shift of AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs with adjusted V_T were fabricated using a recess gate to investigate the effect on actual operation when the polarity of the gate voltage is opposite in the on- and off-state. The direction and time exponents of V_T shift depend on the polarity of the gate bias stress. Electrons detrapping from the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface trap site to AlGaN under negative gate bias stress has to overcome the energy barrier, resulting in a higher temperature dependence. In addition, the unaffected g_m and SS show that the degradation occurred primarily at the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface rather than channel or mobility degradation. For unipolar and bipolar AC stresses, the time exponent of the V_T shift during stress time has two values, and a relatively low value during relaxation after bipolar AC stress. These results may be due to the further degradation by V_min at the broader energy levels of the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface.     

The effect of single A1GaN interlayer on the structural properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si （111） substrates

High-quality and nearly crack-free GaN epitaxial layer was obtained by inserting a single AlGaN interlayer between GaN epilayer and high-temperature AlN buffer layer on Si (111) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. This paper investigates the effect of AlGaN interlayer on the structural properties of the resulting GaN epilayer. It confirms from the optical microscopy and Raman scattering spectroscopy that the AlGaN interlayer has a remarkable effect on introducing relative compressive strain to the top GaN layer and preventing the formation of cracks. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis reveal that a significant reduction in both screw and edge threading dislocations is achieved in GaN epilayer by the insertion of AlGaN interlayer. The process of threading dislocation reduction in both AlGaN interlayer and GaN epilayer is demonstrated.     

阶梯AlGaN外延新型Al0.25Ga0.75N/GaNHEMTs器件实验研究

本文报道了作者提出的阶梯AlGaN外延层新型AlGaN/GaN HEMTs结构的实验结果. 实验利用感应耦合等离子体刻蚀(ICP)刻蚀栅边缘的AlGaN外延层, 形成阶梯的AlGaN 外延层结构, 获得浓度分区的沟道2DEG, 使得阶梯AlGaN外延层边缘出现新的电场峰, 有效降低栅边缘的高峰电场, 从而优化了AlGaN/GaN HEMTs器件的表面电场分布. 实验获得了阈值电压-1.5 V的新型AlGaN/GaN HEMTs器件. 经过测试, 同样面积的器件击穿电压从传统结构的67 V提高到新结构的106 V, 提高了58%左右; 脉冲测试下电流崩塌量也比传统结构减少了30%左右, 电流崩塌效应得到了一定的缓解.     

The effects of GaN capping layer thickness on two-dimensional electron mobility in GaN/AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

In this paper we present a study of the effect of GaN capping layer thickness on the two-dimensional (2D)-electron mobility and the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet density which is formed near the AlGaN barrier/buffer GaN layer. This study is undertaken using a fully numerical calculation for GaN/Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterostructures with different Al mole fraction in the Al_xGa_1−xN barrier, and for various values of barrier layer thickness. The results of our analysis clearly indicate that increasing the GaN capping layer thickness leads to a decrease in the 2DEG density. Furthermore, it is found that the room-temperature 2D-electron mobility reaches a maximum value of approximately 1.8×10³ cm² /Vs⁻¹ for GaN capping layer thickness grater than 100 Å with an Al_0.32Ga_0.68N barrier layer of 200 Å thick. In contrast, for same structure, the 2DEG density decreases monotonically with GaN capping layer thickness, and eventually saturates at approximately 6×10¹² cm⁻² for capping layer thickness greater than 500 Å. A comparison between our calculated results with published experimental data is shown to be in good agreement for GaN capping layers up to 500 Å thickness.     

Determination of the relative permittivity of the AlGaN barrier layer in strained AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Using the measured capacitance--voltage curves and the photocurrent spectrum obtained from the Ni Schottky contact on a strained Al_0.3Ga_0.7N/GaN heterostructure, the value of the relative permittivity of the AlGaN barrier layer was analysed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schr?dinger's and Poisson's equations. It is shown that the calculated values of the relative permittivity are different from those formerly reported, and reverse biasing the Ni Schottky contact has an influence on the value of the relative permittivity. As the reverse bias increases from 0 V to --3~V, the value of the relative permittivity decreases from 7.184 to 7.093.     

GaN基异质结缓冲层漏电分析

通过对GaN基异质结材料C-V特性中耗尽电容的比较,得出AlGaN/GaN异质结缓冲层漏电与成核层的关系.实验结果表明,基于蓝宝石衬底低温GaN成核层和SiC衬底高温AlN成核层的异质结材料比基于蓝宝石衬底低温AlN成核层异质结材料漏电小、背景载流子浓度低.深入分析发现,基于薄成核层的异质结材料在近衬底的GaN缓冲层中具有高浓度的n型GaN导电层,而基于厚成核层的异质结材料的GaN缓冲层则呈高阻特性.GaN缓冲层中的n型导电层是导致器件漏电主要因素之一,适当提高成核层的质量和厚度可有效降低GaN缓冲层的背景载流子浓度,提高GaN缓冲层的高阻特性,抑制缓冲层漏电. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN异质结 GaN缓冲层 漏电 成核层     

Superior material qualities and transport properties of InGaN channel heterostructure grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition is introduced into the growth of In Ga N channel heterostructure for improving material qualities and transport properties. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging shows the phase separation free In Ga N channel with smooth and abrupt interface. A very high two-dimensional electron gas density of approximately 1.85 × 1013cm-2is obtained due to the superior carrier confinement. In addition, the Hall mobility reaches 967 cm2/V·s, owing to the suppression of interface roughness scattering. Furthermore, temperature-dependent Hall measurement results show that In Ga N channel heterostructure possesses a steady two-dimensional electron gas density over the tested temperature range, and has superior transport properties at elevated temperatures compared with the traditional Ga N channel heterostructure. The gratifying results imply that In Ga N channel heterostructure grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition is a promising candidate for microwave power devices.     

An AlGaN/GaN HEMT with reduced surface electric field and improved breakdown voltage

A reduced surface electric field in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is investigated by employing a localized Mg-doped layer under the two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) channel as an electric field shaping layer. The electric field strength around the gate edge is effectively relieved and the surface electric field is distributed evenly as compared with those of HEMTs with conventional source-connected field plate and double field plate structures with the same device physical dimensions. Compared with the HEMTs with conventional source-connected field plate and double field plate, the HEMT with Mg-doped layer also shows that the breakdown location shifts from the surface of the gate edge to the bulk Mg-doped layer edge. By optimizing both the length of Mg-doped layer, L_m, and the doping concentration, a 5.5 times and 3 times the reduction in the peak electric field near the drain side gate edge is observed as compared with those of the HEMTs with source-connected field plate structure and double field plate structure, respectively. In a device with V_GS=-5 V, L_m=1.5 μm, a peak Mg doping concentration of 8× 10¹⁷ cm^-3 and a drift region length of 10 μm, the breakdown voltage is observed to increase from 560 V in a conventional device without field plate structure to over 900 V without any area overhead penalty.     

Growth and characterization of AlN epilayers using pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition

We report the growth of Al N epilayers on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD). The sources of trimethylaluminium(TMAl) and ammonia were pulse introduced into the reactor to avoid the occurrence of the parasitic reaction. Through adjusting the duty cycle ratio of TMAl to ammonia from 0.8 to 3.0, the growth rate of Al N epilayers could be controlled in the range of 0.24 m/h to 0.93 m/h. The high-resolution x-ray diffraction(HRXRD) measurement showed that the full width at half maximum(FWHM) of the(0002) and(10-12) reflections for a sample would be 194 arcsec and 421 arcsec, respectively. The step-flow growth mode was observed in the sample with the atomic level flat surface steps, in which a root-mean-square(RMS) roughness was lower to 0.2 nm as tested by atomic force microscope(AFM). The growth process of Al N epilayers was discussed in terms of crystalline quality, surface morphology,and residual stress.     

AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件电流坍塌和膝点电压漂移机理的研究

考虑了势垒层、缓冲层体陷阱及表面电荷的浓度变化对电流坍塌和膝点电压的影响,发现表面电荷和势垒层体陷阱浓度的变化对沟道电子的浓度影响较小,表面电荷浓度变化下的膝点电压的偏移和坍塌强度的大小与势垒层势阱能量的变化有着主要的关系.缓冲层有着比势垒层更强的局域作用,势垒层和缓冲层的体陷阱浓度在一定范围变化时的膝点电压偏移主要是由沟道电子浓度的变化而引起的,但偏移量却比表面电荷浓度变化的情况下小很多.势阱能量的变化是造成膝点电压偏移的重要原因,坍塌强度主要取决于势阱能量和沟道的电子浓度. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管 电流坍塌 膝点电压 陷阱俘获