Investigation of High-Electric-Field Degradation Effects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

High-electric-field degradation phenomena are investigated in GaN-capped AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by comparing experimental data with numerical device simulations. Under power- and OFF-state conditions, 150-h DC stresses were carried out. Degradation effects characterizing both stress experiments were as follows: a drop in the dc drain current, the amplification of gate-lag effects, and a decrease in the reverse gate leakage current. Numerical simulations indicate that the simultaneous generation of surface (and/or barrier) and buffer traps can account for all of the aforementioned degradation modes. Experiments also showed that the power-state stress induced a drop in the transconductance at high gate-source voltages only, whereas the OFF-state stress led to a uniform transconductance drop over the entire gate-source-voltage range. This behavior can be reproduced by simulations provided that, under the power-state stress, traps are assumed to accumulate over a wide region extending laterally from the gate edge toward the drain contact, whereas, under the OFF-state stress, trap generation is supposed to take place in a narrower portion of the drain-access region close to the gate edge and to be accompanied by a significant degradation of the channel transport parameters.     

AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应研究进展

简要回顾了 Al Ga N/Ga N HEMT器件电流崩塌效应研究的进展 ,着重阐述了虚栅模型、应力模型等几种解释电流崩塌效应形成机理的模型和器件钝化、生长盖帽层等减小电流崩塌效应的措施。     

栅脉冲下AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应研究

源于AlGaN/GaNHEMT器件的大量测试分析发现,栅脉冲条件下漏极电流比直流情况下减小了47%;随着信号频率的改变,漏极电流按μnCoxW[α (0.13 0.64f)VGS (0.13 0.32 f)VGS2](VGS-Vth)2/L的规律变化;脉冲信号宽度对漏电流崩塌影响较小.基于实验结果的理论分析认为,电子从栅极注入到栅漏之间并被表面态所俘获,在沟道中形成增加的耗尽层,使得沟道二维电子气浓度减小,从而导致形成电流崩塌效应的主要原因之一.该结论有助于AlGaN HEMT器件脉冲条件下电流崩塌效应理论解释和器件应用.     

碳致深能级引起的AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌现象

AlGaN/GaN HEMT良好的功率特性虽然被大量报导,但其电流崩塌现象仍是一个令人困扰的问题,作者通过实验证明了导致其电流崩塌的一个因素.两个AlGaN/GaN样片被分别放在纯氮气和掺碳的氮气气氛中快速退火,利用XPS证明了后者中的碳元素含量远远大于前者.比较二者的I-V特性曲线,可发现碳杂质的引入可使AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌程度大大增加.分析表明:由碳杂质引入导致的深能级使得负栅压下俘获沟道中的载流子在正栅压下不能立刻释放,从而引起AlGaN/GaN HEMT中的电流崩塌现象.     

掺杂AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应研究

对不同掺杂浓度AlGaN/GaN HEMTs施加直流偏置应力,研究掺杂AlGaN/GaN HEMTs电流崩塌效应.实验表明,掺杂AlGaN势垒层对器件电流崩塌效应有明显的抑制作用,随着掺杂浓度增加,掺杂对电流崩塌效应的抑制作用越显著.这是因为对于掺杂AlGaN/GaN HEMT,表面态俘获电子将耗尽掺杂AlGaN层,从而能对2DEG起屏蔽作用.AlGaN体内杂质电离后留下正电荷也能进一步屏蔽表面态对沟道2DEG的影响.     

AlN插入层与AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应的关系

比较有无AlN插入层AlGaN/GaN HEMTs在直流偏置应力条件下的电流崩塌程度,研究AlN插入层对电流崩塌的影响.从测试结果看,无AlN插入层的AlGaN/GaN HEMTs有更显著的电流崩塌程度,表明AlN插入层对电流崩塌效应有显著的抑制作用.模拟的AlGaN/GaN能带结构表明,AlN插入层能显著提高AlGaN导带底能级,增加异质结的带隙差.带隙差的增加有利于减小电子遂穿几率,加强沟道二维电子气的量子限制,从而抑制电流崩塌效应.     

AlN插入层与AlGaN/GaN HEMT电流崩塌效应的关系

比较有无AlN插入层AlGaN/GaN HEMTs在直流偏置应力条件下的电流崩塌程度,研究AlN插入层对电流崩塌的影响.从测试结果看,无AlN插入层的AlGaN/GaN HEMTs有更显著的电流崩塌程度,表明AlN插入层对电流崩塌效应有显著的抑制作用.模拟的AlGaN/GaN能带结构表明,AlN插入层能显著提高AlGaN导带底能级,增加异质结的带隙差.带隙差的增加有利于减小电子遂穿几率,加强沟道二维电子气的量子限制,从而抑制电流崩塌效应.     

应力条件下AlGaN/GaNHEMT电流崩塌效应研究

采用应力测试方法,获得了AlGaN/GaN HEMT漏极电流随时间的变化关系.实验结果表明,应力导致漏极电流崩塌56.2%;不同电压应力条件下,只要所加时间足够长和电压足够大,相同栅压的电流崩塌程度都近似相等;漏极电流恢复时间与大小分别为34.5 αVGS与α(VGS-VT)(2-βt).研究表明,栅-漏间表面态捕获的电子使得表面电势发生变化,引起沟道中二维电子气浓度降低,从而导致电流崩塌效应的产生.此结论可望用于AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件电流崩塌效应进一步的理论探索和器件研究.     

AlGaN/GaN HFET电流崩塌效应研究

电流崩塌效应是限制AlGaN/GaN HFET高输出功率特性的一个重要因素,文中从器件研制的角度研究了AlGaN/GaN HFET的电流崩塌效应.研究结果表明,采用传统的化合物半导体器件细栅工艺制作的器件,栅边缘易发生钻蚀效应,SiN层出现钻蚀区域,器件电流崩塌明显;采用ICP刻蚀SiN后,AlGaN表面产生损伤,电流崩塌效应进一步增强;采用电子束直写方式和SiN钝化,电子未对AlGaN层产生损伤,电流崩塌参量小于20%;采用场板结构,SiN层增加了表面态俘获电子的释放通道.电流崩塌效应得到进一步抑制,减小到小于10%.     

High-performance E-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

Enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors have been fabricated with a gate length of 160 nm. The use of gate recess combined with a fluorine-based surface treatment under the gate produced devices with a threshold voltage of +0.1 V. The combination of very high transconductance (> 400 mS/mm) and low gate leakage allows unprecedented output current levels in excess of 1.2 A/mm. The small signal performance of these enhancement-mode devices shows a record current cutoff frequency (f/sub T/) of 85 GHz and a power gain cutoff frequency (f/sub max/) of 150 GHz.     

AlGaN/GaN共栅共源HEMTs器件

研究了蓝宝石衬底AlGaN／GaN共栅共源器件的特性。该器件包括栅长0．8μm共源器件与栅长1μm的共栅器件。研究表明,共栅共源器件的第二栅压对的器件饱和电流与跨导有明显的调制作用,容易实现功率增益控制。与共源器件相比,共栅共源器件在微波特性上fT大约9GHz,比共源器件稍小,但是具有较低的反馈,显著增加的功率资用增益及较高的端口阻抗,与共源器件相比,稳定性更好,可以避免振荡的产生,结合GaN的高功率特性GaN共栅共源器件非常适合微波频段宽频大功率领域的应用。     

Temperature-dependent nonlinearities in GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

Temperature-dependent nonlinearities of GaN/AlGaN HEMTs are reported. The large-signal device model of the transistor is obtained by using a physics-based analysis. The model parameters are obtained as functions of bias voltages and temperature. The analysis of the device has been carried out using a time-domain technique. f_max for a 0.23 μm×100 μm Al_0.13Ga_0.87N/GaN FET is calculated as 69 GHz at 300 K, while at 500 K, f_max decreases to 30 GHz, which are in agreement with the experimental data within 7% error. f_max as obtained from calculated unilateral gain, decreases monotonically with increasing temperature. For shorter gate lengths irrespective of the operating temperature f_max is less sensitive to bias voltage scaling. For longer gate length devices, f_max becomes less sensitive to the bias voltage scaling at elevated temperatures. 1-dB compression point (P_1-dB ) at 4 GHz for a 1 μm×500 μm Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN FET is 13 dBm at 300 K. At 500 K, P_1-dB decreases to 2.5 dBm for the same operating frequency. Similar results for output referred third intercept point (OIP3) are reported for different gate length devices     

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs With Low Leakage Current and High On/Off Current Ratio

In this letter, we propose using an oxide-filled isolation structure followed by $hbox{N}_{2}/hbox{H}_{2}$ postgate annealing to reduce the leakage current in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. An off-state drain leakage current that is smaller than $hbox{10}^{-9} hbox{A/mm}$ (minimum $hbox{5.1} times hbox{10}^{-10} hbox{A/mm}$) can be achieved, and a gate leakage current in the range of $hbox{7.8} times hbox{10}^{-10}$ to $hbox{9.2} times hbox{10}^{-11} hbox{A/mm}$ ($V_{rm GS}$ from $-$10 to 0 V and $V_{rm DS} = hbox{10} hbox{V}$) is obtained. The substantially reduced leakage current results in an excellent on/off current ratio that is up to $hbox{1.5} times hbox{10}^{8}$. An improved flicker noise characteristic is also observed in the oxide-filled devices compared with that in the traditional mesa-isolated GaN HEMTs.      

Reliability of 100 nm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for mm-wave applications

The effect of gate metallization and gate shape on the reliability and RF performance of 100 nm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC substrate for mm-wave applications has been investigated under on-state DC-stress tests. By replacing the gate metallization from NiPtAu to PtAu the median time to failure at T_ch = 209 °C can be improved from 10 h to more than 1000 h. Replacing the PtAu T-gate by a spacer gate further reduces the degradation rate under on-state stress, but decreases the current-gain cut-off frequency from 75 GHz to 50 GHz. Physical failure analysis using electroluminescence and TEM cross-section revealed pit and Ni void formation at the gate foot as the main degradation mechanisms of devices with NiPtAu T-gate. High resolution EDX mapping of stressed devices indicates that the formation of pits is caused by a local aluminium oxidation process. Simulation of the stress induced changes of the input characteristics of devices with NiPtAu gate further proves the formation of pits and Ni voids.     

Structure optimization of field-plate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on 6H-SiC with varying field-plate length and gate-drain spacing were fabricated and analyzed. The classical small signal FET model and the well-known ColdFET method were used to extract the small signal parameters of the devices. Though the devices with field plates exhibited lower better f_T characteristic, they did demonstrate better f_max, MSG and power density performances than the conventional devices without field plate. Besides, no independence of DC characteristic on field-plate length was observed. With the increase of the field-plate length and the gate-drain spacing, the characteristic of f_T and f_max degraded due to the large parasitic effects. Loadpull method was used to measure the microwave power performance of the devices. Under the condition of continuous wave at 5.4 GHz, an output power density of 4.69 W/mm was obtained for device with field-plate length of 0.5 μm and gate-drain length of 2 μm.     

增强型AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件工艺的研究进展

随着高压开关和高速射频电路的发展,增强型GaN基高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)成为该领域内的研究热点。增强型GaN基HEMT只有在加正栅压才有工作电流,可以大大拓展该器件在低功耗数字电路中的应用。近年来,国内外对增强型GaN基HEMT阈值电压的研究主要集中以下两个方面:在材料生长方面,通过生长薄势垒、降低Al组分、生长无极化电荷的AlGaN/GaN异质材料、生长InGaN或p-GaN盖帽层,来控制二维电子气浓度;在器件工艺方面,采用高功函数金属、MIS结构、刻蚀凹栅、F基等离子体处理,来控制表面电势,影响二维电子气浓度。从影响器件阈值电压的相关因素出发,探讨了实现和优化增强型GaN基HEMT的各种工艺方法和发展方向。     

AlGaN/GaN HFET的2DEG和电流崩塌研究(Ⅰ)

从不同的视角回顾和研究了A1GaN/GaN HFET的二维电子气(2DEG)和电流崩塌问题.阐述了非掺杂的AIGaN/GaN异质结界面存在2DEG的原动力是极化效应,电子来源是AlGaN上的施主表面态.2DEG浓度与AlGaN/GaN界面导带不连续性、AlGaN层厚和Al组分有密切关系.揭示了AlGaN/GaN HFET的2DEG电荷涨落受控于表面、界面和缓冲层中的各种缺陷及外加应力,表面空穴陷阱形成的虚栅对输入信号有旁路和延迟作用,它们导致高频及微波状态下的电流崩塌.指出由于构成电流崩塌因素的复杂性,各种不同的抑制电流崩塌方法都存在不足,因此实现该器件大功率密度和高可靠性还有很长的路要走.     

High-power polarization-engineered GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMTs without surface passivation

In this paper, a high-power GaN/AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) has been demonstrated. A thick cap layer has been used to screen surface states and reduce dispersion. A deep gate recess was used to achieve the desired transconductance. A thin SiO/sub 2/ layer was deposited on the drain side of the gate recess in order to reduce gate leakage current and improve breakdown voltage. No surface passivation layer was used. A breakdown voltage of 90 V was achieved. A record output power density of 12 W/mm with an associated power-added efficiency (PAE) of 40.5% was measured at 10 GHz. These results demonstrate the potential of the technique as a controllable and repeatable solution to decrease dispersion and produce power from GaN-based HEMTs without surface passivation.     

AlGaN/GaN HFET的2DEG和电流崩塌研究(Ⅱ)

4 AlGaN/GaN HFET电流崩塌的机理 电流崩塌(图8)是AlGaN/CaN HFET存在的特殊问题也是能否走向实用化的关键问题.图中,Ⅰdsmo和Ⅰdsmf、Vko和Vkf分别代表直流和射频条件下的源漏饱和电流和饱和(膝)电压.     

High-power AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-band applications

We report on the fabrication and high-frequency characterization of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In devices with a gate length of 160 nm, a record power density of 10.5 W/mm with 34% power added efficiency (PAE) has been measured at 40 GHz in MOCVD-grown HEMTs biased at V/sub DS/=30 V. Under similar bias conditions, more than 8.6 W/mm, with 32% PAE, were obtained on the MBE-grown sample. The dependence of output power, gain, and PAE on gate and drain voltages, and frequency have also been analyzed.