Metamorphic Heterostructure InP/GaAsSb/InP HBTs on GaAs Substrates by MOCVD

Good-quality metamorphic InP buffer layers have been successfully grown on GaAs substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Characterization by atomic force microscope, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction, and Hall measurements indicated that the layers are of high crystalline quality, good mobility, and excellent surface morphology. On this buffer, we demonstrated the first metamorphic InP/GaAsSb/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) with good material quality and device performance. Metamorphic DHBTs showed direct-current and radio-frequency characteristics that are comparable to those grown on lattice-matched InP substrates.     

Kink-free AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMTs grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Kink-free AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMTs have been fabricated from an MBE structure grown under normal growth condition. Devices with 1 mu m gate-length exhibit an extrinsic transconductance of 450 mS/mm and a maximum drain current of 600 mA/mm which represent the best results for 1 mu m gate devices. The DC output conductance shows no kink over the entire gate bias range. The elimination of the kink is attributed to the high quality AlInAs buffer layer and a low mismatch between the AlInAs buffer layer and InP substrate.<>     

High transconductance selfaligned WSi gate AlInAs/GaInAs HIGFETs grown by MOCVD

HIGFETs were fabricated using an AlInAs/GaInAs heterostructure grown by MOCVD. The 1 mu m-gate HIGFET showed a maximum transconductance of 740 mS/mm at room temperature, which is the highest transconductance obtained for HIGFETs. The reduction of the AlInAs layer thickness to 30 nm and the low source resistance are the primary reasons for this enhancement.<>     

A high-speed eight-channel optoelectronic integrated receiver arraycomprising GaInAs p-i-n PD's and AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs

The successful fabrication of an eight-channel optoelectronic integrated receiver array on an InP substrate, which comprises eighty elements including GaInAs p-i-n photodiodes (PDs) and AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs, is reported. An average bandwidth of 1.2 GHz with a standard deviation of 190 MHz over the whole channel was obtained. An average responsivity was 546 V/W with a standard deviation of only 19.2 V/W. A crosstalk was less than -30 dB at frequencies between 3 and 900 MHz and as small as -28 dB even at 1 GHz. The yield of chips available for 1.0 Gb/s operation was as high as 62.5% over 2-in-diameter wafer     

High-power V-band AlInAs/GaInAs on InP HEMTs

The DC and RF performance of δ-doped channel AlInAs/GaInAs on InP power high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are reported. A 450-μm-wide device with a gate-length of 0.22 μm has achieved an output power of 150 mW (at the 1-dB gain compression point) with power-added efficiency of 20% at 57 GHz. The device has a saturated output power of 200 mW with power-added efficiency of 17%. This is the highest output power measured from a single InP-based HEMT at this frequency, and demonstrates the feasibility of these HEMTs for high-power applications in addition to low-noise applications at V -band     

Graded pseudomorphic channel AlInP/AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs with highchannel breakdown voltage

Reports effects of the composition grading of the channel on the device characteristics of Al_0.48In_0.52As/Ga_1-xIn_xAs pseudomorphic HEMTs. Systematic studies reveal that the modification of the quantum-well channel by grading the composition considerably changes the channel breakdown (BV_ds) and output conductance (G₀ ) characteristics. HEMTs with graded Ga_1-xIn_xAs channel (from x=0.7 to x=0.6) exhibited significantly improved BV_ds (11V) and g₀ (40 mS/mm) compared with HEMTs with uniform composition (x=0.7) in the channel (BV_ds=4V and g₀=80 mS/mm)     

High-breakdown-voltage AlInAs/GaInAs junction-modulated HEMT's(JHEMT's) with regrown ohmic contacts by MOCVD

A technology for increasing both the two-terminal gate-drain breakdown and subsequently the three-terminal-off-state breakdown of AlInAs/GaInAs high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) to record values without substantial impact on other parameters is presented. The breakdown in these structures is dependent on the multiplication of electrons injected from the source (channel current) and the gate (gate leakage) into the channel. In addition, holes are generated by high fields at the drain and are injected back into the gate and source electrodes. These phenomena can be suppressed by increasing the gate barrier height and alleviating the fields at the drain. Both have been achieved by incorporating a p⁺-2DEG junction as the gate that modulates the 2DEG gas and by utilizing selective regrowth of the source and drain regions by MOCVD. The 1-μm-gate-length devices fabricated have two-terminal gate-drain and three-terminal-off-state breakdown voltages of 31 V and 28 V, respectively     

Metamorphic InAlAs/InGaAs enhancement mode HEMTs on GaAs substrates

In_0.5Al_0.5As/In_0.5Ga_0.5 As HEMTs have been grown metamorphically on GaAs substrates oriented 6° off (100) toward (111)A using a graded InAlAs buffer. The devices are enhancement mode and show good dc and RF performance. The 0.6-μm gate length devices have saturation currents of 262 mA/mm at a gate bias of 0.7 V and a peak transconductance of 647 mS/mm. The 0.6 μm×3 mm devices tested on-wafer have output powers up to 30 mW/mm and 46% power-added-efficiency (PAE) at 1 V drain bias and 850 MHz. When biased and matched for best efficiency performance, this same device has up to 68% PAE at V_d=1 V     

Energy relaxation in GaInAs/AlInAs heterojunctions and GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

We have studied electron energy relaxation in GaInAs/AlInAs heterojunctions and GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells using mobility measurements as a function of electric field and temperature, in the range 3K to 300K. The results in the range 3 to 20K show a power loss rate which is dependent on (T_e − T_l), suggesting that the energy relaxation occurs through acoustic phonon scattering. At electron temperatures greater than 20K, the experimental results are modelled using a standard expression for polar optical phonons. This modelling yields 30meV and 31meV for the polar optical phonon energy in GaAs and InGaAs respectively.     

Heterostructures of metamorphic GaInAs photovoltaic converters fabricated by MOCVD on GaAs substrates

Heterostructures of metamorphic GaInAs photovoltaic converters (PVCs) are on GaAs substrates by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. It is shown that using a multilayer metamorphic buffer with a step of 2.5% in indium content and layer thicknesses of 120 nm provides the high quality of bulk layers subsequently grown on the buffer up to an indium content of 24%. PVCs with a long-wavelength photosensitivity edge up to 1300 nm and a quantum efficiency of ~80% in the spectral range 1050–1100 nm are fabricated. Analysis of the open-circuit voltage of the PVCs and diffusion lengths of minority carriers in the layers demonstrates that the density of misfit dislocations penetrating into the bulk layers increases at an indium content exceeding 10%.     

Hot electron degradation effects in 0.14 μm AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMTs

We report on hot electron stress measurements on 0.14 μm MOCVD grown AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMTs. The stress measurements increase the drain-source current and hence induce a temporary negative shift in the threshold voltage in unpassivated HEMTs. A permanent negative shift in the threshold voltage has been obtained in passivated HEMTs. The observed degradation (temporary/permanent) is due to the storage of positive charges (created by the impact ionization in the channel) in the Schottky AlInAs layer (temporary) or at the interface of semiconductor-passivation layer (permanent). For a given drain-source bias, a shift in the threshold voltage is larger in the gate-source bias region where the device has a maximum transconductance value.     

AlInAs/GaInAs on InP HEMTs for low power supply voltage operation of high power-added efficiency microwave amplifiers

High power-added efficiency microwave power amplifier results are reported for AlInAs/GaInAs on InP HEMTs operated at relatively low power supply voltages (2.5-3 V). C-band power amplifiers are reported with power-added efficiencies as high as 67%, and output powers between 200 and 300 mW. This excellent performance at low power supply voltages is attributed to the high gain and low access resistances of the devices, which leads to a high drain efficiency despite the low power supply voltage.<>     

Metamorphic InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs on GaAs substrates with a novelcomposite channels design

We report on fabrication and performance of novel 0.13 μm T-gate metamorphic InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs on GaAs substrates with composite InGaAs channels, combining the superior transport properties of In_0.52Ga_0.48As with low-impact ionization in the In_0.32Ga_0.68As subchannel. These devices exhibit excellent DC characteristics, high drain currents of 750 mA/mm, extrinsic transconductances of 600 mS/mm, combined with still very low output conductance values of 20 mS/mm, and high channel and gate breakdown voltages. The use of a composite InGaAs channels leads to excellent cut-off frequencies: f_max of 350 GHz and an f_T 160 GHz at V_DS=1.5 V. These are the best microwave frequency results ever reported for any FET on GaAs substrate     

Reliability of AlInAs/GaInAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

The reliability of high-performance AlInAs/GaInAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is discussed. Devices with a base Be doping level of 5×10¹⁹ cm^-3 and a base thickness of approximately 50 nm displayed no sign of Be diffusion under applied bias. Excellent stability in DC current gain, device turn-on voltage, and base-emitter junction characteristics was observed. Accelerated life-test experiments were performed under an applied constant collector current density of 7×10⁴ A/cm² at ambient temperatures of 193, 208, and 328°C. Junction temperature and device thermal resistance were determined experimentally. Degradation of the base-collector junction was used as failure criterion to project a mean time to failure in excess of 10⁷ h at 125°C junction temperature with an associated activation energy of 1.92 eV     

V-band high-efficiency high-power AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMT's

The authors report on the state-of-the-art power performance of InP-based HEMTs (high electron mobility transistors) at 59 GHz. Using a 448-μm-wide HEMT with a gate length of 0.15 μm, an output power of 155 mW with a 4.9-dB gain and a power-added efficiency of 30.1% were obtained. By power-combining two of these HEMTs, an output power of 288 mW with 3.6-dB gain and a power-added efficiency of 20.4% were achieved. This is the highest output power reported with such a high efficiency for InP-based HEMTs, and is comparable to the best results reported for AlGaAs/InGaAs on GaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs at this frequency     

T形栅In0.52Al0.48As/In0.6Ga0.4As MHEMTs功率器件

利用电子束光刻技术制备了200nm栅长GaAs基T型栅InAlAs/lnGaAs MHEMT器件.该GaAs基MHEMT器件具有优越的直流、高频和功率性能,跨导、饱和漏电流密度、阈值电压、电流增益截止频率和最大振荡频率分别达到510mS/mm,605mA/mm,-1.8V,138GHz和78GHz.在8GHz下,输人功率为-0.88(2.11)dBm时,输出功率、增益、PAE、输出功率密度分别为14.05(13.79)dBm,14.9(11.68)dB,67.74(75.1)%,254(239)mW/mm,为进一步研究高性能GaAs基MHEMT功率器件奠定了基础.     

Monte Carlo simulation of electronic characteristics in short channel δ-doped AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs

We present a microscopic analysis of electronic noise in short channel δ-doped AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs. A classical Monte Carlo device simulation, appropriately modified to locally introduce the effects of electron degeneracy and nonequilibrium screening, is used for the calculations. Even if the energy quantization in the channel is not taken into account in the Monte Carlo model, its validity has been checked by means of the comparison with experimental results of static characteristics, small signal behavior and noise performance in a recessed 0.1 μm T-gate δ-doped HEMT (InP based). The geometry and layer structure of the simulated HEMT is completely realistic, including recessed gate and δ-doping configuration and also the T-shape of the gate and the dielectric disposition has been included in the simulation     

A model-based comparison of AlInAs/GaInAs and InP/GaInAs HBT's: aMonte Carlo study

The high-speed performances of AlInAs/GaInAs and InP/GaInAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) are investigated using a one-dimensional self-consistent particle simulator. Optimum alloy compositions for a graded-gap base structure are obtained for both transistors through the tradeoff between the emitter-charging time and base transit time. The saturation velocity in the GaInAs n-type collector is found to be smaller than that in InP, which has been attributed to the diffusion of a large number of hot back-scattered Γ-valley electrons in the GaInAs collector. The difference in the collector transit time in p-type collectors is trivial, since the maximum electron velocity was restricted to below 1.2×10⁸ cm/s due to a strong nonparabolicity effect. The cutoff frequency for the former and the latter are estimated to be 2 and 1.5 times higher, respectively, than for AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs. These results are attributed to a larger bandgap difference between the emitter and base, to yield a high base built-in field, rather than a larger Γ-L band separation energy in the collector to enhance the velocity overshoot effect