Temperature-dependence investigation of a high-performance inverteddelta-doped V-shaped GaInP/InxGa1-xAs/GaAspseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor

A newly designed inverted delta-doped V-shaped GaInP/In_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) has been successfully fabricated and studied. For a 1×100 μm² device, a high gate-to-drain breakdown voltage over 30 V at 300 K is found. In addition, a maximum transconductance of 201 mS/mm with a broad operation regime for 3 V of gate bias (565 mA/mm of drain current density), a very high output drain saturation current density of 826 mA/mm, and a high DC gain ratio of 575 are obtained. Furthermore, good temperature-dependent performances at the operating temperature ranging from 300 to 450 K are found. The unity current gain cutoff frequency f_T and maximum oscillation frequency f_max up to 16 and 34 GHz are obtained, respectively. Meanwhile, the studied device shows the significantly wide and flat gate bias operation regime (3 V) for microwave performances     

HEMT with nonalloyed ohmic contacts using n+-InGaAs cap layer

We have investigated nonalloyed ohmic contacts on HEMT's using a highly conductive n⁺-InGaAs layer. The minimum specific contact resistance obtained was 4.8 × 10^-7Ω.cm², and the IV characteristics were equal to or better than those of conventional HEMT's with alloyed ohmic contacts. The maximum transconductances of a nonalloyed ohmic HEMT were 240 mS/mm at 300K and 340 mS/mm at 88K for a gate length of 1.1 µm. We conclude that it is not necessary for HEMT's with two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channels to have alloyed ohmic contacts, because the tunneling conduction is significant at the n-GaAs/n-AlGaAs/undoped GaAs double heterojunction.     

High-performance InGaP/InxGa1-xAs HEMT withan inverted delta-doped V-shaped channel structure

This letter reports a new and high-performance InGaP/In_xGa_1-xAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with an inverted delta-doped V-shaped channel. Due to the presence of V-shaped inverted delta-doped InGaP/In_xGa_1-x As structure, good carrier confinement and a flat and wide transconductance operation regime are expected. Experimentally, the fabricated device (1×100 μm²) shows a high gate-to-drain breakdown voltage of 30 V and a high output drain saturation current density of 826 mA/mm at V_GS=2.5 V. The high transconductance expands over a very broad operation range with the maximum value of 201 mS/mm at 300 K. Meanwhile, the studied device exhibits a good microwave frequency linearity     

Influences of sulfur passivation on temperature-dependent characteristics of an AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs PHEMT

The influences of (NH/sub 4/)/sub 2/S/sub x/ treatment on an AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) are studied and demonstrated. Upon the sulfur passivation, the studied device exhibits better temperature-dependent dc and microwave characteristics. Experimentally, for a 1/spl times/100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ gate/dimension PHEMT with sulfur passivation, the higher gate/drain breakdown voltage of 36.4 (21.5) V, higher turn-on voltage of 0.994 (0.69) V, lower gate leakage current of 0.6 (571) /spl mu/A/mm at V/sub GD/=-22 V, improved threshold voltage of -1.62 (-1.71) V, higher maximum transconductance of 240 (211) mS/mm with 348 (242) mA/mm broad operating regime (>0.9g/sub m,max/), and lower output conductance of 0.51 (0.53) mS/mm are obtained, respectively, at 300 (510) K. The corresponding unity current gain cutoff frequency f/sub T/ (maximum oscillation frequency f/sub max/) are 22.2 (87.9) and 19.5 (59.3) GHz at 250 and 400 K, respectively, with considerably broad operating regimes (>0.8f/sub T/,f/sub max/) larger than 455 mA/mm. Moreover, the relatively lower variations of device performances over wide temperature range (300/spl sim/510 K) are observed.     

On the InGaP/GaAs/InGaAs camel-like FET for high-breakdown,low-leakage, and high-temperature operations

A new field-effect transistor using a high-barrier n⁺ -GaAs/p⁺-InGaP/n-GaAs camel-like gate and GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure-channel has been fabricated successfully and demonstrated. Experimentally, an ultra high gate-drain breakdown voltage of 52 V, a high drain-source operation voltage over 20 V with low leakage currents, and a high drain-source off-state breakdown voltage of 39.7 V are obtained for a 1×100 μm² device. The high breakdown behavior is attributed to the use of high barrier camel-like gate and heterostructure channels to reduce the undesired leakage current. Furthermore, the studied device also shows high breakdown behavior in a high temperature environment and good microwave characteristics. Therefore, based on these characteristics, the studied device is suitable for high-breakdown, low-leakage, and high-temperature applications     

Normally-off InGaAs junction field-effect transistor with InGaAs buffer layer

InGaAs junction field-effect transistors (JFET's) with 1-µm gate length were successfully fabricated with an n⁺-InGaAs active layer (8 × 10¹⁶cm^-3) and an undoped InGaAs buffer layer grown on semi-insulating InP:Fe substrate by liquid-phase epitaxy. The device showed good pinch-off behavior with a threshold voltage of 0.25 V, a low drain current of 1 µA at zero gate-source voltage, and a very high transconductance of 553 mS/mm at room temperature. This is one of the highest transconductance values ever reported for a 1-µm gate-length FET.     

Multiple-channel GaAs/AlGaAs high electron mobility transistors

Multiple-channel high electron mobility transistors (HEMT's) have been designed and fabricated on GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructural material grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The sheet carrier density of the two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) measured at 77 K was linearly proportional to the number of high mobility electron channels, and reached 5.3 × 10¹²cm^-2for six-channel HEMT structures. Depletion-mode devices of the double-heterojunction HEMT were operated between negative pinchoff voltage and forward-biased gate voltage without any transconductance degradation. A peak extrinsic transconductance of 360 mS/mm at 300 K and 550 mS/mm at 77 K has been measured for a 1-µm gate-length double-heterojunction enhancement-mode device. An extremely high drain current of 800 mA/mm with a gate-to-drain avalanche breakdown voltage of 9 V was measured on six-channel devices.     

High-breakdown characteristics of the InP-based heterostructurefield-effect transistor withIn0.34Al0.66As0.85Sb0.15Schottky layer

We report improved breakdown characteristics of InP-based heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFET's) utilizing In_0.34 Al_0.66As_0.85Sb_0.15 Schottky layer grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Due to high energy bandgap and high Schottky barrier height (>0.73 eV) of the In_0.34Al_0.66As_0.85Sb_0.15 Schottky layer, high two-terminal gate-to-drain breakdown voltage of 40 V, three-terminal off-state breakdown voltage of 40 V three-terminal threshold-state breakdown voltage of 31 V, and three-terminal on-state breakdown voltage of 18 V at 300 K for In_0.75Ga_0.25As channel, are achieved. Moreover, the temperature dependence of two-terminal reverse leakage current is also investigated. The two-terminal gate-to-drain breakdown voltage is up to 36 V at 420 K. A maximum extrinsic transconductance of 216 mS/mm is obtained with a gate length of 1.5 μm     

Properties of selectively doped heterostructure transistors incorporating a superlattice donor layer

We report on some salient features of an improved structure of selectively doped heterostructure transistor (SDHT) incorporating a short-period (30 Å) Al0.6Ga0.4As/n-GaAs superlattice donor layer. We show that this superlattice-SDHT (S²DHT) structure is a good candidate for both low-temperature packaged operation and room temperature applications. In addition to eliminating drain I-V distortion at low temperature, the device shows a threshold voltage shift from 300 K to 77 K of only ∼50 mV. The device also has high transconductance (∼250 mS/mm for 1-µm gate lengths at room temperature), larger voltage swing, and higher current driving capability than conventional SDHT's.     

Quantum-well p-channel AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs heterostructureinsulated-gate field-effect transistors with very high transconductance

Quantum-well p-channel pseudomorphic AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs heterostructure insulated-gate field-effect transistors with enhanced hole mobility are described. The devices exhibit room-temperature transconductance, transconductance parameter, and maximum drain current as high as 113 mS/mm, 305 mS/V/mm, and 94 mA/mm, respectively, in 0.8-μm-gate devices. Transconductance, transconductance parameter, and maximum drain current as high as 175 mS/mm, 800 mS/V/mm, and 180 mA/mm, respectively were obtained in 1-μm p-channel devices at 77 K. From the device data hole field-effect mobilities of 860 cm²/V-s at 300 K and 2815 cm²/V-s at 77 K have been deduced. The gate current causes the transconductance to drop (and even to change sign) at large voltage swings. Further improvement of the device characteristics may be obtained by minimizing the gate current. To this end, a type of device structure called the dipole heterostructure insulated-gate field-effect transistor is proposed     

An investigation of i-AlGaAs/n-GaAs doped-channel MIS-like FET's (DMT's)—Properties and performance potentialities

Doped-channel MIS-like FET's (DMT's) based upon an i-AlGaAs/n-GaAs structure have been investigated in detail for the purpose of clarifying their properties and performance potentialities. The DMT is unique in having two operation modes, a depletion-layer modulation mode and an electron accumulation mode, both of which are experimentally demonstrated through capacitance-voltage characteristics. Analytical and experimental results shows that the maximum drain current IDSmaxis more than 2.5 times that for a conventional n-AlGaAs/GaAs 2DEGFET. gmmaxand IDsmaxvalues obtained for 0.5- µm gate DMT's are very high, 310 mS/mm (410 mS/mm) and 650 mA/mm (800 mA,/mm) at 300 K (77 K), respectively, fmaxis 48 GHz. fTis as large as 45 GHz, which is the best data ever reported in 0.5-µm gate FET's. Moreover, the estimated electron saturation velocity is outstandingly large, 1.5 × 10⁷cm/s (2 × 10⁷cm/s) at 300 K (77 K), even for a thin GaAs channel layer with a 3 × 10¹⁸cm^-3doping level, while Hall electron mobility is not reasonably so high, being typically 1850 cm²/V . s (1650 cm²/V . S). Preliminary power performances are also studied at 28.5 GHz. An 18-dBm (225-mW/mm) saturation output power, 6.4-dB linear gain, and 15-percent power added efficiency are achieved. A further performance improvement may be easily accomplished by gate length reduction, structure optimization, and so on. Consequently, it has been proved that DMT's have great feasibility for high-speed and high-frequency high-power device applications.     

OMCVD-grown In0.4Al0.6As/InP quantum-wellHEMT

The transport properties and device characteristics of pseudomorphic In_0.4Al_0.6As/InP modulation-doped heterostructures are investigated. The existence of a two-dimensional electron gas at the heterojunction was confirmed by Shubnikov-de Haas measurements. A high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) having a gate length of 1.5 μm showed extrinsic transconductances and drain current densities as high as 160 mS/mm and 300 mA/mm, respectively. The HEMT also showed a very small output conductance of less than 2 mS/mm and high gate-drain breakdown voltage of larger than 15 V. These results show the great potential of this HEMT for high-voltage gain and high-power microwave applications     

Model and analysis of a delta-doping field-effect transistors utilizing an InGaP/GaAs camel-gate structure

In this paper, the performances of a new δ-doping field-effect transistor utilizing an InGaP/GaAs camel-gate structure by theoretical and experimental analysis will be reported. An analytical model related to drain saturation current, transconductance, potential barrier height, gate-to-source depletion capacitance, and unit current gain frequency is developed to explain the device performances. The employments of n⁺-GaAs/p⁺-InGaP/n-GaAs heterostructure gate and the δ-doping channel with heavy-doping level were used to improve transconductance linearity and enhance current drivability. For a 1×100 μm² device, the experimental results show that a drain saturation current of 1120 mA/mm, a maximum transconductance of 240 mS/mm, and a large V_gs swing larger than 3.5 V with the transconductance higher than 200 mS/mm are obtained. In addition, the measured unit current gain frequency f_t is 22 GHz. These experimental results are consistent with theoretical analysis.     

An InAlAs/InAs MODFET

An InAs modulation-doped field-effect transistor (MODFET) using an epitaxial heterostructure based entirely on arsenides is reported. The heterostructure was grown by MBE on InP and contains a 30-Å InAs channel. A 2-μm-gate-length device displays well-behaved characteristics, showing sharp pinch-off (V_th=0.8 V) and small output conductance (5 mS/mm) at 300 K. The maximum transconductance is 170 mS mm with a maximum drain current of 312 mA/mm. Strong channel quantization results in a breakdown voltage of -9.6 V, a severalfold improvement over previous InAs MODFETs based on antimonides. Low-temperature magnetic field measurements show strong Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations which, over a certain range of gate voltage, strongly indicate that the electron channel resides in the InAs layer     

Undoped InP/InGaAs heterostructure insulated-gate FET's grown byOMVPE with PECVD-deposited SiO2 as gate insulator

The fabrication and performance of InP/InGaAs insulated-gate FETs which use a heterojunction to isolate the channel electrons from the semiconductor-insulator interface are discussed. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was used to deposit SiO₂ on InP to form the gate insulator. Since the device structure is undoped, channel electrons are accumulated by the gate-induced field across the insulator. Extrinsic transconductances of 130 mS/mm (300 K) and 210 mS/mm (77 K) were achieved for 1.5- μm gate-length devices. Gate-drain breakdown voltages in excess of 20 V were also measured     

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     

Extremely high transconductance Ge/Si0.4Ge0.6p-MODFET's grown by UHV-CVD

Ge-channel modulation-doped field-effect transistors (MODFET's) with extremely high transconductance are reported. The devices were fabricated on a compressive-strained Ge/Si_0.4Ge_0.6 heterostructure with a Hall mobility of 1750 cm²/Vs (30,900 cm²/Vs) at room temperature (77 K). Self-aligned, T-gate p-MODFET's with L_g=0.1 μm displayed an average peak extrinsic transconductance (g(m_ext)) of 439 mS/mm, at a drain-to-source bias voltage (V_ds) of -0.6 V, with the best device having a value of g(m_ext)=488 mS/mm. At 77 K, values as high as g(m_ext)=687 mS/mm were obtained at a bias voltage of only V_ds=-0.2 V. These devices also displayed a unity current gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 42 GHz and maximum frequency of oscillation (f_max) of 86 GHz at V_ds=-0.6 V and -1.0 V, respectively     

N-shaped negative differential resistance in a transistor structurewith a resistive gate

Voltage-controlled negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristics in a N-AlGaAs/p⁺-GaAs/n-GaAs transistor structure are proposed and demonstrated. The gate, made using self-aligned p-type diffusion, is placed in the n-GaAs collector layer instead of the p⁺-GaAs base layer, resulting in a so-called resistive gate. For a fixed gate voltage, the device current is modulated by the applied anode voltage. Under appropriate gate voltage with respect to the anode, the device shows good voltage-controllable NDR characteristics, including large peak-to-valley current ratios (PTV's) and a voltage extension in the N-shaped curve which is equivalent to the common-emitter breakdown voltage in a transistor. A numerical model based on the transistor model for the carrier transport in this device, taking account of the influence of the applied anode voltage on the gate, is proposed. The experimental results show large room temperature PTV's (e.g., 140 at a gate bias of 1.5 V) and large voltage extension in N-shaped curves (about 9 V). Reasonable agreement between theoretical and experimental results is observed     

n+ self-aligned-gate AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure FET

The n+ self-aligned-gate technology for high-performance AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure FETs employing rapid lamp annealing have been studied. The large transconductance of 330 mS/mm at 300 K and 530 mS/mm at 83 K was obtained for the 0.7 ?m gate length device, by reducing the source resistance to 0.6 ?mm. The minimum delay time of 18.7 ps was obtained with a power dissipation of 9.1 mW at 300 K. The standard deviation of the delay time was as small as 1.1 ps at a fixed bias of 2.5 V.     

Improved temperature-dependent performances of a novel InGaP-InGaAs-GaAs double channel pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (DC-PHEMT)

A new InGaP-InGaAs-GaAs double channel pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor (DC-PHEMT) has been fabricated successfully. The detailed temperature-dependent performance is investigated. The key features of the studied device are the use of an InGaAs DC structure, triple /spl delta/-doped carrier supplier layers and good Schottky behavior of the InGaP "insulator". For a 1-/spl mu/m gate length device, the turn-on voltage of 1.46 (1.16) V, gate leakage current of 60 [600] /spl mu/A/mm at V/sub GD/ = 15 V, maximum extrinsic transconductance of 162 [145] mS/mm with 310 [260] mA/mm broad operation regime (> 0.9g/sub m,max/), output conductance of 0.41 (0.43) mS/mm, and voltage gain of 390 [335] are obtained at T = 300 [480] K, respectively. In addition, good microwave performance with a flat and wide operation regime is obtained.