A low gate bias model extraction technique for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

The small-signal equivalent circuit of AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors is discussed. A new modeling procedure is introduced in this paper that does not bias the device at a untenable high gate voltage in order to extract the parasitic inductance and resistance. Simulated results show good agreement with measurements up to 40 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。     

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.     

Annealing before gate metal deposition related noise performance in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

For a further improvement of the noise performance in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, reducing the relatively high gate leakage current is a key issue. In this paper, an experiment was carried out to demonstrate that one method during the device fabrication process can lower the noise. Two samples were treated differently after gate recess etching: one sample was annealed before metal deposition and the other sample was left as it is. From a comparison of their Ig-Vg characteristics, a conclusion could be drawn that the annealing can effectively reduce the gate leakage current. The etching plasma-induced damage removal or reduction after annealing is considered to be the main factor responsible for it. Evidence is given to prove that annealing can increase the Schottky barrier height. A noise model was used to verify that the annealing of the gate recess before the metal deposition is really effective to improve the noise performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.     

蒸栅前退火与AlGaN/GaN HEMT噪声性能关系的研究

为进一步提高AlGaN/GaN HEMT的噪声性能,如何才能降低其相对较高的栅漏电是较为棘手的问题之一。作者通过实验证明了可降低其噪声的器件制作过程中的一项工艺步骤。两个AlGaN/GaN样片在刻蚀栅槽后被分别不同处理,一个蒸发栅金属前退火,另一个直接蒸发栅金属。比较二者的Ig－Vgd直流特性曲线,可发现蒸栅前进行退火处理可大大降低栅漏电。数据分析表明：退火可提高肖特基势垒;刻蚀过程中的等离子体可引发损伤,退火导致的损伤消除是栅漏电减小的主要原因。作者引用了一个噪声模型来证明蒸栅前退火确实可以有效地提高AlGaN/GaN HEMT的噪声性能。     

Effect of fluorine interface redistribution on performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

The effect of fluorine interface redistribution on dc and microwave performances of SF₆ plasma-treated AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) was investigated. Selective SF₆ plasma treatment of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT gate interface yielded increases in the current gain cut-off frequency (f_T) and maximum frequency of oscillation (f_max) of almost 60%. Annealing induced fluorine interface redistribution showed a low impact on the electron drift mobility and a negligible impact on the peak transconductance of the HEMTs. A large impact of the fluorine interface redistribution was observed for the threshold voltage and sheet carrier concentration of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Consequently, it led to a decrease in the f_T and f_max values, but the values were still higher than those of conventional reference HEMTs.     

High-performance enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs using fluoride-based plasma treatment

We report a novel approach in fabricating high-performance enhancement mode (E-mode) AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. The fabrication technique is based on fluoride-based plasma treatment of the gate region in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and post-gate rapid thermal annealing with an annealing temperature lower than 500/spl deg/C. Starting with a conventional depletion-mode HEMT sample, we found that fluoride-based plasma treatment can effectively shift the threshold voltage from -4.0 to 0.9 V. Most importantly, a zero transconductance (g/sub m/) was obtained at V/sub gs/=0 V, demonstrating for the first time true E-mode operation in an AlGaN/GaN HEMT. At V/sub gs/=0 V, the off-state drain leakage current is 28 /spl mu/A/mm at a drain-source bias of 6 V. The fabricated E-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with 1 /spl mu/m-long gate exhibit a maximum drain current density of 310 mA/mm, a peak g/sub m/ of 148 mS/mm, a current gain cutoff frequency f/sub T/ of 10.1 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency f/sub max/ of 34.3 GHz.     

自热和陷阱对AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管漏极瞬态响应的影响

本文利用二维数值仿真研究了自热和陷阱对AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管漏极瞬态响应的影响。分析了脉冲作用下漏极电流的变化;结果表明温度是漏极电流滞后的主要原因。漏极电流达到稳态的时间决定于热时间常数,这里为80微秒。详细讨论了脉冲作用下沟道电子密度和陷阱捕获电子数目的变化情况。结果表明当电场发生突变时,缓冲层受主陷阱是漏极电流崩塌的主要原因。并且沟道电子密度随沟道温度上升而增大。     

一种氮化镓高迁移率晶体管的栅电流噪声模型

This work presents a theoretical and experimental study on the gate current 1/f noise in Al Ga N/Ga N HEMTs. Based on the carrier number fluctuation in the two-dimensional electron gas channel of Al Ga N/Ga N HEMTs, a gate current 1/f noise model containing a trap-assisted tunneling current and a space charge limited current is built. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment. Experiments show that, if Vg Vx, gate current 1/f noise comes from not only the trap-assisted tunneling RTS, but also the space charge limited current RTS. This indicates that the gate current 1/f noise of the Ga N-based HEMTs device is sensitive to the interaction of defects and the piezoelectric relaxation. It provides a useful characterization tool for deeper information about the defects and their evolution in Al Ga N/Ga N HEMTs.     

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     

基于氟等离子体表面处理技术的AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件栅正向泄漏电流研究

The gate forward leakage current in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs) is investigated. It is shown that the current which originated from the forward biased Schottky-gate contributed to the gate forward leakage current.Therefore,a fluorine-plasma surface treatment is presented to induce the negative ions into the AlGaN layer which results in a higher metal-semiconductor barrier.Consequently,the gate forward leakage current shrinks.Experimental results confirm that the gate forward leakage current is decreased by one order magnitude lower than that of HEMT device without plasma treatment.In addition,the DC characteristics of the HEMT device with plasma treatment have been studied.     

具有低欧姆接触电阻的高性能AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件研制

研究了AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件Ti/Al/Ti/Au四层金属结构欧姆接触的形成过程.通过系统研究退火条件获得了较低的欧姆接触电阻,实现了10-7Ω·cm2的欧姆接触率,并在此基础上对AlGaN/GaN HEMT欧姆接触形成机理进行了深入讨论.通过器件工艺的优化,研制了高性能的AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件.栅宽40μm的器件跨导达到250mS/mm,fT达到70GHz;栅宽0.8mm的功率器件电流密度达到1.07A/mm(Vg=0.5V),Vds=30V时,8GHz工作频率下(在片测试)器件的输出功率为32.5dBm(1.6W),输出功率密度达到2.14W/mm,功率增益为12.7dB.     

The effect of gate leakage on the noise figure of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

The effect of gate leakage on the noise figure of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMTs) is explored. It is shown that these devices have a sizable amount of gate leakage that cannot be ignored when measuring their noise performance. Measurements across a single sample have more than 1 dB of variation in minimum noise figure. We will show this variation is because of gate leakage. A modified van der Ziel model is used to predict this large variation and allows easy noise figure prediction of HEMT and MESFET devices.     

版图设计对多指AlGaN/GaN HEMTs 栅指温度影响的研究

本文利用三维热仿真方法研究了不同版图设计对多指AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率器件工作温度的影响。我们使用拉曼微区测温技术测量了样品的沟道温度,并用于确定材料的热导率,验证器件热模型的准确性。建立模型时特别考虑了界面热阻的作用,确保器件温度分布的仿真结果与实验测量结果一致。文中采用包含界面热阻效应的三维热模型,系统的分析了栅指数目,器件栅宽和栅栅间距等因素对AlGaN/GaN 高电子迁移率晶体管热特性的影响。最后,提出了一种优化器件栅指间距的热设计方法,能够有效降低器件工作时的最高温度。     

Effect of the post-gate annealing on the gate reliability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

In this paper,we investigated the effect of post-gate annealing (PGA) on reverse gate leakage and the reverse bias reli-ability of Al0.23Ga0.77N/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs).We found that the Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission is domin-ant in the reverse gate leakage current at the low reverse bias region (Vth ＜ VG ＜ 0 V) for the unannealed and annealed HEMTs.The emission barrier height of HEMT is increased from 0.139 to 0.256 eV after the PGA process,which results in a reduction of the reverse leakage current by more than one order.Besides,the reverse step stress was conducted to study the gate reliabil-ity of both HEMTs.After the stress,the unannealed HEMT shows a higher reverse leakage current due to the permanent dam-age of the Schottky gate.In contrast,the annealed HEMT shows a little change in reverse leakage current.This indicates that the PGA can reduce the reverse gate leakage and improve the gate reliability.     

具有低欧姆接触电阻的高性能AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件研制

研究了AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件Ti/Al/Ti/Au四层金属结构欧姆接触的形成过程.通过系统研究退火条件获得了较低的欧姆接触电阻,实现了10-7Ω·cm2的欧姆接触率,并在此基础上对AlGaN/GaN HEMT欧姆接触形成机理进行了深入讨论.通过器件工艺的优化,研制了高性能的AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件.栅宽40μm的器件跨导达到250mS/mm,fT达到70GHz;栅宽0.8mm的功率器件电流密度达到1.07A/mm(Vg=0.5V),Vds=30V时,8GHz工作频率下(在片测试)器件的输出功率为32.5dBm(1.6W),输出功率密度达到2.14W/mm,功率增益为12.7dB.     

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.     

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.     

100 nm gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on silicon with fT = 90 GHz

The realisation of 0.1 mum gate AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown on high-resistivity silicon substrates is reported. A maximum current density of 750 mA/mm and an extrinsic transconductance of 225 mS/mm are achieved. The devices feature a record current gain cutoff frequency as high as f _T=90 GHz, the highest value ever reported from a GaN-based device grown on a silicon substrate. The results demonstrate the great potential of GaN-on-silicon technology for low-cost millimetre-wave applications.     

Effect of gate length on DC performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown by MBE

The DC performance of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was investigated for gate lengths in the range 0.1–1.2 μm. On 0.25 μm gate length devices we obtained 40 V_DS operation with >50 mA peak I_D. The peak drain current density was 0.44 A/mm for 100 μm gate width devices with 1.2 μm gate lengths. The extrinsic transconductance (g_m) decreased with both gate length and gate width and was 75 mS/mm for all gate widths for 0.25 μm devices. E-beam written gates typically produced a slightly lower Schottky barrier height than optically patterned gates.