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.     

阶梯AlGaN外延新型Al_(0.25)Ga_(0.75)N/GaNHEMTs击穿特性分析

为了优化AlGaN/GaN HEMTs器件表面电场,提高击穿电压,本文首次提出了一种新型阶梯AlGaN/GaN HEMTs结构.新结构利用AlGaN/GaN异质结形成的2DEG浓度随外延AlGaN层厚度降低而减小的规律,通过减薄靠近栅边缘外延的AlGaN层,使沟道2DEG浓度分区,形成栅边缘低浓度2DEG区,低的2DEG使阶梯AlGaN交界出现新的电场峰,新电场峰的出现有效降低了栅边缘的高峰电场,优化了AlGaN/GaN HEMTs器件的表面电场分布,使器件击穿电压从传统结构的446 V,提高到新结构的640 V.为了获得与实际测试结果一致的击穿曲线,本文在GaN缓冲层中设定了一定浓度的受主型缺陷,通过仿真分析验证了国际上外延GaN缓冲层时掺入受主型离子的原因,并通过仿真分析获得了与实际测试结果一致的击穿曲线.     

The Kinetics of Destruction of Piezoceramics under the Electric-Field Action

The electrical durability (time since the application of a constant voltage up to the breakdown) as a function of the electric field strength E and the breakdown field intensity E _br as a function of the rate of rise of the electric field strength E are measured on ferroelectric-piezoceramic disks. It is concluded that the destruction of ferroelectric-piezoceramics has a kinetic character.     

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.     

Breakdown voltage analysis of Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/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.     

A novel partial silicon on insulator high voltage LDMOS with low-k dielectric buried layer

A novel partial silicon-on-insulator (PSOI) high voltage device with a low-k (relative permittivity) dielectric buried layer (LK PSOI) and its breakdown mechanism are presented and investigated by MEDICI.At a low k value the electric field strength in the dielectric buried layer (E I) is enhanced and a Si window makes the substrate share the vertical drop,resulting in a high vertical breakdown voltage;in the lateral direction,a high electric field peak is introduced at the Si window,which modulates the electric field distribution in the SOI layer;consequently,a high breakdown voltage (BV) is obtained.The values of EI and BV of LK PSOI with kI=2 on a 2 μm thick SOI layer over 1 μm thick buried layer are enhanced by 74% and 19%,respectively,compared with those of the conventional PSOI.Furthermore,the Si window also alleviates the self-heating effect.     

高功率微波作用下高电子迁移率晶体管的损伤机理

本文针对高电子迁移率晶体管在高功率微波注入条件下的损伤过程和机理进行了研究,借助SentaurusTCAD仿真软件建立了晶体管的二维电热模型,并仿真了高功率微波注入下的器件响应.探索了器件内部电流密度、电场强度、温度分布以及端电流随微波作用时间的变化规律.研究结果表明,当幅值为20 V,频率为14.9 GHz的微波信号由栅极注入后,器件正半周电流密度远大于负半周电流密度,而负半周电场强度高于正半周电场.在强电场和大电流的共同作用下,器件内部的升温过程同时发生在信号的正、负半周内.又因栅极下靠近源极侧既是电场最强处,也是电流最密集之处,使得温度峰值出现在该处.最后,对微波信号损伤的高电子迁移率晶体管进行表面形貌失效分析,表明仿真与实验结果符合良好.     

A novel partial SOI LDMOSFET with a trench and buried P layer for breakdown voltage improvement

In this paper for the first time, a partial silicon-on-insulator (PSOI) lateral double-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistor (LDMOSFET) is proposed with a novel trench which improves breakdown voltage. The introduced trench in the partial buried oxide enhances peak of the electric field and is positioned in the drain side of the drift region to maximize breakdown voltage. We demonstrate that the electric field is modified by producing two additional electric field peaks, which decrease the common peaks near the drain and gate junctions in the trench-partial-silicon-on-insulator (T-PSOI) structure. Hence, a more uniform electric field is obtained. Two dimensional (2D) simulations show that the breakdown voltage of T-PSOI is nearly 64% higher in comparison with partial silicon on insulator (PSOI) structure and alleviate self heating effect approximately 9% and 15% in comparison with its conventional PSOI (C-PSOI) and conventional SOI (C-SOI) counterparts respectively. In addition the current of the T-PSOI, C-PSOI, conventional SOI (C-SOI), and fully depleted conventional SOI (FC-SOI) structures are 90, 82, 74, and 44 μA, respectively for a drain–source voltage V_DS = 30 V and gate–source voltage V_GS = 10 V.     

Statistical study of nanosecond electric breakdowns in n-hexane

Methods for analyzing statistical distributions of the breakdown delay time are generalized. A statistical approach is used to study electric breakdown in n-hexane in a 2.1-MV/cm quasi-uniform electric field at a pulse duration of ∼5×10⁻⁸ s. Two different mechanisms for the anode breakdown are shown to coexist and compete with each other. One of them incorporates the “bubble” stage, whereas the other one is related to ionization in the liquid itself. It is found that the weaker influence of the external pressure on the pulsed electric strength of liquids in the nanosecond range is caused by a transition to the ionization mechanism for the anode breakdown at elevated pressures.     

The effect of polymer type on electric breakdown strength on a nanosecond time scale

Based on the concepts of fast polarization, effective electric field and electron impact ionization criterion, the effect of polymer type on electric breakdown strength (E_BD) on a nanosecond time scale is investigated, and a formula that qualitatively characterizes the relation between the electric breakdown strength and the polymer type is derived. According to this formula, it is found that the electric breakdown strength decreases with an increase in the effective relative dielectric constants of the polymers. By calculating the effective relative dielectric constants for different types of polymers, the theoretical relation for the electric breakdown strengths of common polymers is predicted. To verify the prediction, the polymers of PE (polyethylene), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethelene), PMMA (organic glass) and Nylon are tested with a nanosecond-pulse generator. The experimental result shows E_BD (PTFE) > E_BD (PMMA) > E_BD (Nylon) > E_BD (PE). This result is consistent with the theoretical prediction.     

Analysis of the modulation mechanisms of the electric field and breakdown performance in AlGaN/GaN HEMT with a T-shaped field-plate

A novel Al Ga N/Ga N high electron mobility transistor(HEMT) with a source-connected T-shaped field-plate(ST-FP HEMT) is proposed for the first time in this paper. The source-connected T-shaped field-plate(ST-FP) is composed of a source-connected field-plate(S-FP) and a trench metal. The physical intrinsic mechanisms of the ST-FP to improve the breakdown voltage and the FP efficiency and to modulate the distributions of channel electric field and potential are studied in detail by means of two-dimensional numerical simulations with Silvaco-ATLAS. A comparison to the HEMT and the HEMT with an S-FP(S-FP HEMT) shows that the ST-FP HEMT could achieve a broader and more uniform channel electric field distribution with the help of a trench metal, which could increase the breakdown voltage and the FP efficiency remarkably. In addition, the relationship between the structure of the ST-FP, the channel electric field, the breakdown voltage as well as the FP efficiency in ST-FP HEMT is analyzed. These results could open up a new effective method to fabricate high voltage power devices for the power electronic applications.     

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场板结构高电子迁移率晶体管的场板尺寸优化分析

对不同场板尺寸的AlGaN/GaN 场板结构高电子迁移率晶体管进行了研究,建立简化模型分析场板长度对沟道电场分布的影响.结果表明,调整钝化层厚度和场板长度都可以调制沟道电场的分布形状,当场板长度较小时,随着长度的增大器件击穿电压随之增加,而当长度增大到一定程度后器件击穿电压不再增加.通过优化场板长度,器件击穿电压提高了64%,且实验结果与模拟结果相符. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN 击穿电压 场板长度     

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

A reduced surface electric field in an 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 sourceconnected field plates and double field plates,the HEMT with a 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 8×10 17cm-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.     

Electrophoresis of a charge-inverted macroion complex: Molecular-dynamics study

We have performed molecular-dynamics simulations to study the effect of an external electric field on a macroion in the solution of multivalent Z : 1 salt. To obtain plausible hydrodynamics of the medium, we explicitly make the simulation of many neutral particles along with ions. In a weak electric field, the macroion drifts together with the strongly adsorbed multivalent counterions along the electric field, in the direction proving inversion of the charge sign. The reversed mobility of the macroion is insensitive to the external field, and increases with salt ionic strength. The reversed mobility takes a maximal value at intermediate counterion valence. The motion of the macroion complex does not induce any flow of the neutral solvent away from the macroion, which reveals screening of hydrodynamic interactions at short distances in electrolyte solutions. A very large electric field, comparable to the macroion unscreened field, disrupts charge inversion by stripping the adsorbed counterions off the macroion. Received 5 December 2001 and Received in final form 10 April 2002     

高电子迁移率晶体管微波损伤仿真与实验研究

针对AlGaAs/InGaAs型高电子迁移率晶体管,利用TCAD半导体仿真工具,从器件内部空间电荷密度、电场强度、电流密度和温度分布变化分析出发,研究了从栅极注入1 GHz微波信号时器件内部的损伤过程与机理。研究表明,器件的损伤过程发生在微波信号的正半周,负半周器件处于截止状态;器件内部损伤过程与机理在不同幅值的注入微波信号下是不同的。当注入微波信号幅值较低时,器件内部峰值温度出现在栅极下方靠源极侧栅极与InGaAs沟道间,由于升温时间占整个周期的比例太小,峰值温度很难达到GaAs的熔点;但器件内部雪崩击穿产生的栅极电流比小信号下栅极泄漏电流高4个量级,栅极条在如此大的电流下很容易烧毁熔断。当注入微波信号幅值较高时,在信号正半周的下降阶段,在栅极中间偏漏极下方发生二次击穿,栅极电流出现双峰现象,器件内部峰值温度转移到栅极中间偏漏极下方,峰值温度超过GaAs熔点。利用扫描电子显微镜对微波损伤的高电子迁移率晶体管器件进行表面形貌失效分析,仿真和实验结果符合较好。     

Kinetic parameters,collision rates,energy exchanges and transport coefficients of non-thermal electrons in premixed flames at sub-breakdown electric field strengths

The effects of an electric field on the collision rates, energy exchanges and transport properties of electrons in premixed flames are investigated via solutions to the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The case of high electric field strength, which results in high-energy, non-thermal electrons, is analysed in detail at sub-breakdown conditions. The rates of inelastic collisions and the energy exchange between electrons and neutrals in the reaction zone of the flame are characterised quantitatively. The analysis includes attachment, ionisation, impact dissociation, and vibrational and electronic excitation processes. Our results suggest that Townsend breakdown occurs for E/N = 140 Td. Vibrational excitation is the dominant process up to breakdown, despite important rates of electronic excitation of CO, CO₂ and N₂ as well as impact dissociation of O₂ being apparent from 50 Td onwards. Ohmic heating in the reaction zone is found to be negligible (less than 2% of peak heat release rate) up to breakdown field strengths for realistic electron densities equal to 10¹⁰ cm^?3. The observed trends are largely independent of equivalence ratio. In the non-thermal regime, electron transport coefficients are insensitive to mixture composition and approximately constant across the flame, but are highly dependent on the electric field strength. In the thermal limit, kinetic parameters and transport coefficients vary substantially across the flame due to the spatially inhomogeneous concentration of water vapour. A practical approach for identifying the plasma regime (thermal versus non-thermal) in studies of electric field effects on flames is proposed.     

Anisotropy of electrical breakdown in crystalline quartz

Partial breakdown of crystalline silicon dioxide in a pulsed nonuniform electric field is considered. Breakdown channels lie in planes of silicon ions that are parallel to the c axis of the crystal (up to six equivalent directions of the channels are observed). The formation of breakdown channels is satisfactorily described in terms of cascade Auger transitions with regard to the crystallochemical symmetry of the quartz lattice.     

On the origin of the hot-electron instabilities inn-InSb at crossed electric and magnetic fields

Coherent current oscillations with frequencies of several hundreds of megahertz and microwave generation at frequencies up to 40 GHz were investigated in then-InSb samples subjected to crossed electric and magnetic fields. They are shown as being caused by electric field redistribution and negative differential mobility in high-field regions.     

Electrical breakdown of microwave plasma in water

The electrical breakdown of microwave plasma in water was investigated between 1 and 30 kPa. The dependency of the ignition power for generating plasma on the size of coaxial electrode was measured. The ignition power decreases with a decrease of the diameter of the inner electrode. The behavior of microwave plasma in water was observed using a high-speed camera. The plasma ignites in a bubble generated by microwave heating. The model for calculating the electric field was created on the basis of the captured images of the bubble just before plasma ignition. The method presented can be used to visualize the electrical field distribution in the bubble. The electric field breakdown was calculated using the measured ignition power. The electric field breakdown of plasma in water is of the same order as gas phase plasma.