Metamorphic In0.4Al0.6As/In0.4Ga0.6As HEMTs on GaAs substrate

New In_0.4Al_0.6As/In_0.4Ga_0.6 As metamorphic (MM) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been successfully fabricated on GaAs substrate with T-shaped gate lengths varying from 0.1 to 0.25 μm. The Schottky characteristics are a forward turn-on voltage of 0.7 V and a gate breakdown voltage of -10.5 V. These new MM-HEMTs exhibit typical drain currents of 600 mA/mm and extrinsic transconductance superior to 720 mS/mm. An extrinsic current cutoff frequency f_T of 195 GHz is achieved with the 0.1-μm gate length device. These results are the first reported for In_0.4 Al_0.6As/In_0.4Ga_0.6As MM-HEMTs on GaAs substrate     

In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As MSM photodetectors and HEMT's grown by MOCVD on GaAs substrates

The authors report the first demonstration of In_0.52Al _0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors and high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on GaAs substrates by organometallic chemical vapor deposition. Both photodetectors and transistors showed no degradation in performance compared to devices simultaneously grown on InP substrates. The photodetectors exhibited a responsivity of 0.45 A/W and leakage current of 10 to 50 nA. The HEMTs with a gate length of 1.0 μm showed a transconductance as high as 250 mS/mm, and f_T and f_max of 25 and 70 GHz, respectively     

Improved strained HEMT characteristics using double-heterojunctionIn0.65Ga0.35As/In0.52Al0.48As design

The DC and microwave properties of strained In_0.65Ga _0.35As/In₀₅₂Al_0.48As HEMTs (high electron-mobility transistors) with double-heterojunction design are presented. The high sheet carrier density and good carrier confinement give rise to excellent device performance with very low output conductance. For 1×150-μm² long-gate HEMTs, the measured cutoff frequency f_T and maximum frequency of oscillation f_max are as high as 37 and 66 GHz, respectively     

Characterization of surface-undoped In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP high electron mobilitytransistors

High-performance 0.3-μm-gate-length surface-undoped In_0.52 Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have been characterized and compared with a surface-doped structure. At 18 GHz, the surface-undoped HEMT has achieved a maximum stable gain (MSG) of 19.2 dB compared to 16.0 dB for the surface-doped structure. The higher MSG value of the surface-undoped HEMTs is obtained due to the improved g_m/g₀ ratio associated with the surface-induced electric field spreading effect. Comparison of identical 0.3-×150-μm-gate devices fabricated on surface-undoped and -doped structures has shown greatly improved gate leakage characteristics and much lower output conductance for the surface-undoped structure. It is demonstrated that the surface potential, modulated by different surface layer designs, affects the charge control in the conducting channel, especially the carrier injection into the buffer, resulting in excess output conductance. Several millimeter-wave coplanar waveguide (CPW) monolithic distributed amplifiers have been successfully fabricated by using the surface-undoped HEMT structure. A high gain per stage distributed amplifier with 170-dB±1-dB small-signal gain across a frequency band of 24-40 GHz, a W-band monolithic integrated circuit with 6.4-dB gain at 94 GHz, and a broad bandwidth distributed amplifier with 5-dB gain across a frequency band of 5 to 100 GHz have been demonstrated by using the surface-undoped structures     

Characteristics of strained In0.65Ga0.35As/In0.52Al0.48As HEMT withoptimized transport parameters

The DC and microwave performance of a strained In₀.₆₅Ga₀.₃₅As/In₀ .₅₂A1₀.₄₈As HEMT (high-electron-mobility transistors) is reported. Its design is based on theoretical and experimental studies including low- and high-field transport characterization of heterostructures with different strains. The intrinsic DC transconductance and cutoff frequence of 1.4-μm-long gate HEMTs are 574 mS/mm and 38.6 GHz, respectively. The increased indium (In) composition in the channel enhances the drift velocity from 1.35×10⁷ to 1.55×10⁷ cm/s at 300 K     

0.12 μm transferred-substrateIn0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As HEMTs on silicon wafer

New In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47 As transferred-substrate high electron mobility transistors (TS-HEMTs) have been successfully fabricated on 2-in Silicon substrate with 0.12 μm T-shaped gate length. These new TS-HEMTs exhibit typical drain currents of 450 mA/mm and extrinsic transconductance up to 770 mS/mm. An extrinsic current gain cutoff frequency f_T of 185 GHz is obtained. That result is the first reported for In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47 As TS-HEMTs on Silicon substrate     

Design and experimental characteristics of strained In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs (x>0.53)HEMTs

Strained In_0.52Al_0.48 As/In_xGa _1-xAs (x>0.53) HEMTs (high electron mobility transistors) are studied theoretically and experimentally. A device design procedure is reported that is based on band structure and charge control self-consistent calculations. It predicts the sheet carrier density and electron confinement as a function of doping and thickness of layers. The DC performance at 300 K is presented. Wafer statistics demonstrate improvement of device characteristics with excess indium in the channel (g¯_{m, intr}=500 and 700 mS/mm for x=0.60 and 0.65). Microwave characterization shows the f_T improvement (f_T=40 and 45 GHz for x=0.60 and 0.65, respectively) and the R_ds limitations of the 1-μm-long-gate HEMTs     

Impact of surface layer on In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP high electron mobilitytransistors

The surface potential of FETs has shown a strong effect on the channel potential and charge control in the channel. A study of the role of undoped versus doped cap layers in In_0.52Al_0.48As-In_0.53Ga_0.47 As-InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT) is discussed. As the result of surface potential effect, direct comparison of 0.3×150-μm² gate devices yielded improved gate breakdown characteristics and a DC output conductance of less than 15 mS/mm for the surface undoped structure compared to 50 mS/mm for the doped structure. The surface undoped MEMT achieved a very high maximum stable gain of 19.2 dB compared to 16.0 dB for the surface doped HEMT at 18 GHz, largely due to the improved g_m/g ₀ ratio. This study demonstrates that control of the surface potential in In_0.52Al_0.48As-In_0.53Ga _0.47As-InP HEMTs is consistent with the effect of a gate recess in MESFETs. This study also shows that, in achieving high-gain applications of HEMTs, the surface potential near the gate edge should be optimized through unconventional surface layer design     

High performance 0.35 μm gate-length monolithicenhancement/depletion-mode metamorphicIn0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As HEMTs on GaAs substrates

Monolithic integration of enhancement (E)- and depletion (D)-mode metamorphic In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47 As/GaAs HEMTs with 0.35 μm gate-length is presented for the first time. Epilayers are grown on 3-inch SI GaAs substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. A mobility of 9550 cm²/V-s and a sheet density of 1.12×10^{12 -2} are achieved at room temperature. Buried Pt-gate was employed for E-mode devices to achieve a positive shift in the threshold voltage. Excellent characteristics are achieved with threshold voltage, maximum drain current, and extrinsic transconductance of 100 mV, 370 mA/mm and 660 mS/mm, respectively for E-mode devices, and -550 mV, 390 mA/mm and 510 mS/mm, respectively for D-mode devices. The unity current gain cutoff frequencies of 75 GHz for E-mode and 80 GHz for D-mode are reported     

Ga0.51In0.49P/In0.15Ga0.85As/GaAs pseudomorphic doped-channel FET with high-current densityand high-breakdown voltage

Ga_0.51In_0.49P/In_0.15Ga_0.85 As/GaAs pseudomorphic doped-channel FETs exhibiting excellent DC and microwave characteristics were successfully fabricated. A high peak transconductance of 350 mS/mm, a high gate-drain breakdown voltage of 31 V and a high maximum current density (575 mA/mm) were achieved. These results demonstrate that high transconductance and high breakdown voltage could be attained by using In_0.15Ga_0.85As and Ga_0.51In_0.49P as the channel and insulator materials, respectively. We also measured a high-current gain cut-off frequency f_t of 23.3 GHz and a high maximum oscillation frequency f_max of 50.8 GHz for a 1-μm gate length device at 300 K. RF values where higher than those of other works of InGaAs channel pseudomorphic doped-channel FETs (DCFETs), high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), and heterostructure FETs (HFETs) with the same gate length and were mainly attributed to higher transconductance due to higher mobility, while the DC values were comparable with the other works. The above results suggested that Ga_0.51In_0.49P/In_0.15Ga_0.85 As/GaAs doped channel FET's were were very suitable for microwave high power device application     

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     

High-performance InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InPdouble HBTs on GaAs substrates

InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were grown on GaAs substrates. A 140 GHz power-gain cutoff frequency f_max and a 207 GHz current-gain cutoff frequency f_τ were obtained, presently the highest reported values for metamorphic HBTs. The breakdown voltage BV_CEO was 5.5 V, while the dc current gain β was 76. High-thermal-conductivity InP metamorphic buffer layers were employed in order to minimize the device-thermal resistance     

Low noiseIn0.32(AlGa)0.68As/In0.43Ga0.57As metamorphic HEMT on GaAs substrate with 850 mW/mm output powerdensity

A double-pulse-doped InAlGaAs/In_0.43Ga_0.57As metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (MHEMT) on a GaAs substrate is demonstrated with state-of-the-art noise and power performance, This 0.15 μm T-gate MHEMT exhibits high on- and off-state breakdown (V_ds>6 V and V_dg>13 V, respectively) which allows biasing at V_ds>5 V. The 0.6 mm device shows >27 dBm output power (850 mW/mm) at 35 GHz-the highest reported power density of any MHEMT. Additionally, a smaller gate periphery 2×50 μm (0.1 mm) 43% MHEMT exhibits a F_min=1.18 dB and 10.7 dB associated gain at 25 GHz, and also is the first noise measurement of a -40% In MHEMT. A double recess process with selective etch chemistries provides for high yields     

Millimeter-wave ion-implanted gradedInxGa1-xAs MESFETs grown by MOCVD

The authors present the fabrication and characterization of ion-implanted graded In_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs MESFETs. The In_xGa_1-xAs layers are grown on GaAs substrates by MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) with InAs concentration graded from 15% at the substrate to 0% at the surface. 0.5-μm gate MESFETs are fabricated on these wafers using silicon ion implantation. In addition to improved Schottky contact, the graded In_xGa _1-xAs MESFET achieves maximum extrinsic transconductance of 460 mS/mm and a current-gain cutoff frequency f_t of 61 GHz, which is the highest ever reported for a 0.5-μm gate MESFET. In comparison, In_0.1Ga_0.9As MESFETs fabricated with the same processing technique show an f_t of 55 GHz     

High efficiency single pulse doped Al0.60In0.40As/GaInAs/InP HEMTs for Q-band power applications

Single pulse doped, 0.2 μm-gate Al_0.60In_0.40 As/GaInAs/InP HEMTs have been fabricated and characterised. The complete process sequence for the HEMTs includes SiN_x passivation and dry etched via hole fabrication. Power measurements at 44 GHz on a 10×60 μm² device yielded 225 mW output power, 5 dB associated gain, and 39% power added efficiency. The results indicate that the single pulse doped InP-based HEMTs are suitable for high power applications at Q-band     

Single- and double-heterojunction pseudomorphic In0.5(Al0.3Ga0.7)0.5P/In0.2Ga0.8As high electron mobility transistors grown by gas sourcemolecular beam epitaxy

In_0.5(Al_0.3Ga_0.7)_0.5 P/In_0.2Ga_0.8As single- and double-heterojunction pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (SH-PHEMTs and DH-PHEMTs) on GaAs grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE) were demonstrated for the first time. SH-PHEMTs with a 1-μm gate-length showed a peak extrinsic transconductance g_m of 293 mS/mm and a full channel current density I_max of 350 mA/mm. The corresponding values of g_m and I_max were 320 mS/mm and 550 mA/mm, respectively, for the DH-PHEMTs. A short-circuit current gain (H₂₁) cutoff frequency f_T of 21 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency f_max of 64 GHz were obtained from a 1 μm DH device. The improved device performance is attributed to the large ΔE_c provided by the In_0.5(Al_0.3Ga_0.7)_0.5P/In _0.2Ga_0.8As heterojunctions. These results demonstrated that In_0.5(Al_0.3Ga_0.7)_0.5P/In _0.2Ga_0.8As PHEMT's are promising candidates for microwave power applications     

Demonstration of aluminum-free metamorphic InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors on GaAssubstrates

We report, for the first time, the successful fabrication of aluminum-free metamorphic (MM) InP/In_0.53 Ga_0.47 As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) on GaAs substrates with a linearly graded In_xGa_1-xP buffer grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). Devices with 5×5 μm² emitters display a peak current gain of 40 and a common-emitter breakdown voltage (BV_CE0) higher than 9 V, a current gain cut-off frequency (f_T) of 48 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) of 42 GHz. A minimum noise figure of 2.9 dB and associated gain of 19.5 dB were measured at a collector current level of 2.6 mA at 2 GHz. Detailed analysis suggests that the degradation of the base-emitter heterojunction interface and the increase of bulk recombination are the most probable causes for the poorer device performance of current metamorphic HBTs compared with lattice-matched HBTs     

Double-dopedIn0.35Al0.65As/In0.35Ga0.65As power heterojunction FET on GaAs substrate with 1 W outputpower

A double-doped metamorphic In_0.35Al_0.65As/In _0.35Ga_0.65As power heterojunction FET (HJFET) on GaAs substrate is demonstrated. The HJFET exhibits good dc characteristics, with gate forward turn on voltage of 1.0 V, breakdown voltage of 20 V, and maximum drain current of 490 mA/mm. Under RF operation at a frequency of 950 MHz, a power added efficiency of 63% with associated output power of 31.7 dBm is obtained at a gate width of 12.8 mm. This large gate width and state-of-the-art power performance in metamorphic HJFETS were enabled by a selective etching, sputtered WSi gate process and low surface roughness due to an Al_0.60Ga_0.40As_0.69Sb_0.31 strain relief buffer     

Unstrained, modulation-doped, In0.3Ga0.7As/In0.29Al0.71As field-effect transistor grown on GaAssubstrate

The fabrication, structure, and properties of unstrained modulation-doped, 1-μm-long and 10-μm-wide gate, field effect transistors made of In_0.3Ga_0.7As/In_0.29As_0.71As heterojunctions grown on GaAs substrates using compositionally step-graded buffer layers are described. These devices have a transconductance of 335 mS/mm, f_max of 56 GHz, and a gate breakdown voltage of 23.5 V     

High-transconductance heterostructure Ga0.47In0.53As/InP metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistorsgrown by chemical beam epitaxy

SiO₂ insulator is on top of an InP layer; current transport occurs, however, an in adjacent n-type Ga_0.47In_0.53As:Sn layer. A transconductance of g_m=300 mS/mm is obtained from depletion-mode MISFETs with a gate length of 1.2 μm. This MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) junction has a symmetric current-voltage characteristic and a low-leakage current of ~1 nA at ±2 V. High-frequency S-parameter measurements performed b probing devices on the wafers yield a unity current gain frequency of F _t=22.2 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation f _max=27 GHz