基于AlGaN/GaN场效应晶体管的太赫兹焦平面成像传感器

太赫兹波成像技术在人体安检、医学成像、无损检测等领域具有广泛的应用前景。文中面向高速、高灵敏度和便携式太赫兹成像应用需求,设计实现了一种基于AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管自混频检测机制的太赫兹焦平面成像传感器。该焦平面成像传感器由探测器阵列芯片和CMOS读出电路通过倒装互连实现,阵列规模达到3232。探测器阵列中具有对管差分功能的像元设计通过提高探测器的电压响应度和抑制共模电压噪声,提高了焦平面成像的灵敏度。焦平面成像传感器的输出模拟信号通过片外的模数转换（ADC）芯片转化为数字信号,由现场可编程门阵列（FPGA）采集后通过Camera Link图像数据与通信接口发送到计算机。利用该焦平面成像传感器,演示实现了太赫兹光斑、太赫兹干涉环和太赫兹光照下的旋转塑料叶片的视频成像,帧频达到30 Hz。     

AlGaN/AlN/GaN high-power microwave HEMT

In this letter, a novel heterojunction AlGaN/AlN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is discussed. Contrary to normal HEMTs, the insertion of the very thin AlN interfacial layer (~1 nm) maintains high mobility at high sheet charge densities by increasing the effective ΔE_C and decreasing alloy scattering. Devices based on this structure exhibited good DC and RF performance. A high peak current 1 A/mm at V_GS=2 V was obtained and an output power density of 8.4 W/mm with a power added efficiency of 28% at 8 GHz was achieved     

Millimeter-wave high-power 0.25-/spl mu/m gate-length AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC substrates

Reports on the CW power performance at 20 and 30 GHz of 0.25 /spl mu/m /spl times/ 100 /spl mu/m AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown by MOCVD on semi-insulating SiC substrates. The devices exhibited current density of 1300 mA/mm, peak dc extrinsic transconductance of 275 mS/mm, unity current gain cutoff (f/sub T/) of 65 GHz, and maximum frequency of oscillation (f/sub max/) of 110 GHz. Saturated output power at 20 GHz was 6.4 W/mm with 16% power added efficiency (PAE), and output power at 1-dB compression at 30 GHz was 4.0 W/mm with 20% PAE. This is the highest power reported for 0.25-/spl mu/m gate-length devices at 20 GHz, and the 30 GHz results represent the highest frequency power data published to date on GaN-based devices.     

Terahertz detection by GaN/AlGaN transistors

Detection of subterahertz and terahertz radiation by high electron mobility GaN/AlGaN transistors in the 0.2-2.5 THz frequency range (much higher than the cutoff frequency of the transistors) is reported. Experiments were performed in the temperature range 4-300 K. For the lowest temperatures, a resonant response was observed. The resonances were interpreted as plasma wave excitations in gated two-dimensional electron gas. Non-resonant detection was observed at temperatures above 100 K. Estimates for noise equivalent power show that these transistors can be used as efficient detectors of terahertz radiation at cryogenic and room temperatures     

Implantation angle periphery effects on non-alloyed Si-implanted ohmic contacts for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

We report on the effect of implantation angle on contact resistance of non-alloyed ohmic contacts to selectively implanted source/drain regions in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) heterostructures. Three different components of contact resistance are observed for such contacts: (i) contact resistance between the metal and the semiconductor, (ii) resistance of the implanted region and (iii) an additional resistance attributed to a transition region between implanted and non-implanted region. This third component varies strongly with implantation angle. The variation with implantation angle shows that the ratio of lateral implantation damage to penetration depth is critical for implantation of AlGaN/GaN HEMT source/drain contact regions. Our results also show that increasing the implantation angle in combination with reducing the implantation width can reduce contact resistance.     

DC and microwave performance of high-current AlGaN/GaNheterostructure field effect transistors grown on p-type SiC substrates

The fabrication and characterization of high performance AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) grown on p-type SiC substrates are reported for the first time. The HFETs were fabricated with gate lengths of 0.25, 0.5, and 1 μm. These devices exhibited simultaneously high drain currents, high extrinsic transconductances, and excellent frequency response. The 0.25-μm gate-length devices produced a peak drain current of 1.43 A/mm, a transconductance of 229 mS/mm, a unity current-gain cutoff frequency of 53 GHz, and a maximum frequency of oscillation of 58 GHz. The unity current-gain cutoff frequency also exhibited little degradation as the drain-source bias was swept up to 20 V. These results represent a significant improvement over similar HFETs grown on sapphire substrates and are attributed to the higher thermal conductivity and reduced lattice mismatch associated with SiC substrates     

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with InGaN back-barriers

A GaN/ultrathin InGaN/GaN heterojunction has been used to provide a back-barrier to the electrons in an AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT). The polarization-induced electric fields in the InGaN layer raise the conduction band in the GaN buffer with respect to the GaN channel, increasing the confinement of the two-dimensional electron gas under high electric field conditions. The enhanced confinement is especially useful in deep-submicrometer devices where an important improvement in the pinchoff and 50% increase in the output resistance have been observed. These devices also showed excellent high-frequency performance, with a current gain cut-off frequency (f/sub T/) of 153 GHz and power gain cut-off frequency (f/sub max/) of 198 GHz for a gate length of 100 nm. At a different bias, a record f/sub max/ of 230 GHz was obtained.     

Microwave performance of AlGaN/GaN metal insulator semiconductorfield effect transistors on sapphire substrates

Metal-insulator-semiconductor field effect transistors (MISFETs) from surface-passivated undoped AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on sapphire were fabricated. Measured static output characteristics includes full channel currents (I_dss) of roughly 750 mA/mm with gate-source pinchoff voltages of -10 V and peak extrinsic transconductancies (g_m) of 100-110 mS/mm. Increased surface roughness resulting from a gate recess process to reduce the pinchoff voltage introduces gate leakage currents in the micro-amps regime. With evidence for reduced dc-to-rf dispersion from pulsed gate transfer characteristics, these devices at 4 GHz with 28.0 V bias generated maximum output power densities of 4.2 W/mm with 14.5 dB of gain and 36% power added efficiency     

Epitaxially-grown GaN junction field effect transistors

Junction field effect transistors (JFETs) are fabricated on a GaN epitaxial structure grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The dc and microwave characteristics of the device are presented. A junction breakdown voltage of 56 V is obtained corresponding to the theoretical limit of the breakdown field in GaN for the doping levels used. A maximum extrinsic transconductance (g_m ) of 48 mS/mm and a maximum source-drain current of 270 mA/mm are achieved on a 0.8 μm gate JFET device at V_GS=1 V and V_DS=15 V. The intrinsic transconductance, calculated from the measured g_m and the source series resistance, is 81 mS/mm. The f_T and f_max for these devices are 6 GHz and 12 GHz, respectively. These JFET's exhibit a significant current reduction after a high drain bias is applied, which is attributed to a partially depleted channel caused by trapped hot-electrons in the semi-insulating GaN buffer layer. A theoretical model describing the current collapse is presented, and an estimate for the length of the trapped electron region is given     

Generation-recombination noise in GaN/AlGaN heterostructure fieldeffect transistors

Local levels with a large activation energy E_a~0.8-1.0 eV have been observed in low-frequency noise measurements of GaN/AlGaN heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs and MOS-HFETs) grown on 4N-SiC substrates. The noise might come from the thin (30 nm) AlGaN barrier layer. The estimates of the level parameters based on this assumption resulted in reasonable values of capture cross section σ_n≈(10^-12-10^-13) cm² and trap concentration N_t≈5-10¹⁶ cm^-3     

CW operation of short-channel GaN/AlGaN doped channelheterostructure field effect transistors at 10 GHz and 15 GHz

We report on a 0.15-μm gate length AlGaN/GaN doped channel heterostructure field effect transistor (DC-HFET) with maximum frequency of oscillation in excess of 97 GHz. HFETs based on our doped channel design exhibited CW microwave operation up to 15 GHz with a maximum output power of approximately 270 mW/mm at 10 GHz. These values are still limited by parasitics and can be significantly improved by optimizing the device design     

High-temperature performance of AlGaN/GaN HFETs on SiC substrates

The performance results AlGaN-GaN Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors (HFETs) grown on SiC substrates are reported. The maximum transconductance of these devices was 142 mS/mm and the source-drain current was as high as 0.95 A/mm. The maximum dissipated DC power at room temperature was 0.6 MW/cm², which is more than three times higher than that in similar devices grown on sapphire. This high thermal breakdown threshold was achieved primarily due to the effective heat sink through the SiC substrate. These devices demonstrated stable performance at elevated temperatures up to 250°C. The source-drain current saturation was observed up to 300°C. The leakage current in the below threshold regime was temperature-activated with an activation energy of 0.38 eV     

基于国产外延材料的SiC基AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件研制

本文报道了基于国产外延材料的SiC基Al GaN/GaN高迁移率晶体管（HEMT）器件的研制,外延材料利用金属有机物化学气相淀积技术（MOCVD）生长,器件栅长0.8μm,输出电流密度达到0.94A/mm,在5.4GHz下,单指型管芯获得了3.1W/mm的连续波测试功率,与蓝宝石衬底的器件相比,由于自热效应的有效改善,输出功率能力大大提高.     

Carrier transport related analysis of high-power AlGaN/GaN HEMTstructures

Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation and Hall measurement results were compared with HEMT DC and RF characteristics for two different MOCVD grown AlGaN-GaN HEMT structures on semiinsulating 4H-SiC substrates. A HEMT with a 40-nm, highly doped AlGaN cap layer exhibited an electron mobility of 1500 cm²/V/s and a sheet concentration of 9×10¹² cm at 300 K (7900 cm²/V/s and 8×10¹² cm^-2 at 80 K), but showed a high threshold voltage and high DC output conductance. A 27-nm AlGaN cap with a thinner, lightly doped donor layer yielded similar Hall values, but lower threshold voltage and output conductance and demonstrated a high CW power density of 6.9 W/mm at 10 GHz. The 2DEG of this improved structure had a sheet concentration of n_SdH=7.8×10¹² cm^-2 and a high quantum scattering lifetime of τ_q=1.5×10^-13 s at 4.2 K compared to n_SdH=8.24×10¹² cm^-2 and τ_q=1.72×10^-13 s for the thick AlGaN cap layer structure, Despite the excellent characteristics of the films, the SdH oscillations still indicate a slight parallel conduction and a weak localization of electrons. These results indicate that good channel quality and high sheet carrier density are not the only HEMT attributes required for good transistor performance     

High-energy proton irradiation effects on AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors

AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) show decreases in extrinsic transconductance, drain-source current threshold voltage, and gate current as a result of irradiation with 40 MeV protons at doses equivalent to decades in low-earth orbit. The data are consistent with the protons creating deep electron traps that increase the HEMT channel resistance. Postirradiation annealing at 300°C was able to restore ∼70% of the initial g_m and I_DS values in HEMTs receiving proton doses of 5×10¹⁰ cm⁻².     

Enhancement of breakdown voltage in AlGaN/GaN high electronmobility transistors using a field plate

We investigate the breakdown (V_br) enhancement potential of the field plate (FP) technique in the context of AlGaN/GaN power HEMTs. A comprehensive account of the critical geometrical and material variables controlling the field distribution under the FP is provided. A systematic procedure is given for designing a FP device, using two-dimensional (2-D) simulation, to obtain the maximum V_br , with minimum degradation in on-resistance and frequency response. It is found that significantly higher V_br can be achieved by raising the dielectric constant (ε_i) of the insulator beneath the FP. Simulation gave the following estimates. The FP can improve the V_br by a factor of 2.8-5.1, depending on the 2-DEG concentration (n_s) and ε_i. For n _s=1×10¹³/cm², the V_br can be raised from 123 V to 630 V, using a 2.2 μm FP on a 0.8 μm silicon nitride, and 4.7 μm gate-drain separation. The methodology of this paper can be extended to the design of FP structures in other lateral FETs, such as MESFETs and LD-MOSFETs     

11.2 W/mm power density AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors on a GaN substrate

In this letter, high power density AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on a freestanding GaN substrate are reported. An asymmetric Γ-shaped 500-nm gate with a field plate of 650 nm is introduced to improve microwave power performance. The breakdown voltage (BV) is increased to more than 200 V for the fabricated device with gate-to-source and gate-to-drain distances of 1.08 and 2.92 μm. A record continuous-wave power density of 11.2 W/mm@10 GHz is realized with a drain bias of 70 V. The maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) and unity current gain cut-off frequency (f_t) of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs exceed 30 and 20 GHz, respectively. The results demonstrate the potential of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on free-standing GaN substrates for microwave power applications.     

Formation technology of through metallized holes to sources of high-power GaN/SiC high electron mobility transistors

The technology of through metallized holes to sources of high-power GaN/SiC high electron mobility transistors is studied. The dependences of the reactive ion etch rate of SiC in the inductively coupled plasma discharge on the pressure of the SF₆/O₂/Ar gas mixture (5–40 mTorr), the high-frequency power applied to the bottom electrode (200–300 W), the working gas flow ratio (5 : 1 : (0–10)), and the bottom electrode temperatures (5–50°C) are studied. Based on these dependences, the hole etching process on 76-mm-diameter SiC substrates 50 and 100 μm thick is developed. The process features smooth etched-surface morphology, a high rate (1 μm/min), and low high-frequency power deposited into the inductively coupled plasma discharge (1000 W). The developed process of hole etching in SiC substrates is characterized by the selectivity coefficient S = 12 and the anisotropy coefficient A = 13. Films based on NiB are recommended as masks for etching through holes into SiC substrates. The processes of through-hole metallization by the electrochemical deposition of Ni and Au layers are developed.     

MOCVD生长的SiC衬底高迁移率GaN沟道层AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT结构

用MOCVD技术在高阻6H-SiC衬底上研制出了具有高迁移率GaN沟道层的AlGaN/AlN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)结构材料,其室温和80K时二维电子气迁移率分别为1944和11588cm2/(V·s),相应二维电子气浓度为1.03×1013cm-2;三晶X射线衍射和原子力显微镜分析表明该材料具有良好的晶体质量和表面形貌,10μm×10μm样品的表面粗糙度为0.27nm.用此材料研制出了栅长为0.8μm,栅宽为1.2mm的HEMT器件,最大漏极饱和电流密度和非本征跨导分别为957mA/mm和267mS/mm.     

MOCVD生长的SiC衬底高迁移率GaN沟道层AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT结构

用MOCVD技术在高阻6H-SiC衬底上研制出了具有高迁移率GaN沟道层的AlGaN/AlN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)结构材料,其室温和80K时二维电子气迁移率分别为1944和11588cm2/(V·s),相应二维电子气浓度为1.03×1013cm-2;三晶X射线衍射和原子力显微镜分析表明该材料具有良好的晶体质量和表面形貌,10μm×10μm样品的表面粗糙度为0.27nm.用此材料研制出了栅长为0.8μm,栅宽为1.2mm的HEMT器件,最大漏极饱和电流密度和非本征跨导分别为957mA/mm和267mS/mm.