Dispersion effect on the current voltage characteristic of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

The current voltage (IV) characteristics are greatly influenced by the dispersion effects in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. The direct current (DC) IV and pulsed IV measurements are performed to give a deep investigation into the dispersion effects, which are mainly related to the trap and self-heating mechanisms. The results show that traps play an important role in the kink effects, and high stress can introduce more traps and defects in the device. With the help of the pulsed IV measurements, the trapping effects and self-heating effects can be separated. The impact of time constants on the dispersion effects is also discussed. In order to achieve an accurate static DC IV measurement, the steady state of the bias points must be considered carefully to avoid the dispersion effects.