High-Temperature Microwave Performance of Submicron AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC

The effect of temperature on the small-signal radio-frequency (RF) performance of submicron AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors on SiC has been studied from room temperature (RT) up to 600 K. A relation between ambient and channel temperatures has been established by means of finite-element simulations. The thermal behavior of the intrinsic parameters $C_{rm gs}$, $C_{rm gd}$, $g_{m, {rm int}}$, and $g_{rm ds}$ has been extracted accurately from RF measurements by means of the small-signal equivalent circuit. Main dc parameters $(I_{D}, g_{m, {rm ext}})$ show reductions close to 50% between RT and 600 K, mainly due to the decrease in the electron mobility and drift velocity. In the same range, $f_{T}$ and $f_{max}$ suffer a 60% decrease due to the reduction in $g_{m, {rm ext}}$ and a slight increase of $C_{rm gs}$ and $C_{rm gd}$. An anomalous thermal evolution of $C_{rm gd}$ at low $I_{D}$ has been identified, which is indicative of the presence of traps.      

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     

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.     

High-frequency measurements of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs at high temperatures

High-frequency measurements of the 1.3-μm-long gate AlGaN-GaN HEMTs have been performed at temperatures ranging from 23 to 187°C. The cutoff frequency f_T decreased with increasing temperature. It was 13.7 and 8.7 GHz at 23 and 187°C, respectively. The effective electron velocities υ_eff in the channel evaluated from the total delay time versus I_D-inverse relation were 1.2 and 0.8×10⁷ cm/s at 23 and 187°C, respectively     

变温C-V和传输线模型测量研究AlGaN/GaN HEMT温度特性

通过对异质结材料上制作的肖特基结构变温C-V测量和传输线模型变温测量,研究了蓝宝石衬底AlGaN/GaN异质结高电子迁移率晶体管的直流特性在25～200℃之间的变化,分析了载流子浓度分布、沟道方块电阻、欧姆比接触电阻和缓冲层泄漏电流随温度的变化规律.得出了器件饱和电流随温度升高而下降主要由输运特性退化造成,沟道泄漏电流随温度的变化主要由栅泄漏电流引起的结论.同时,证明了GaN缓冲层漏电不是导致器件退化的主要原因.     

变温C-V和传输线模型测量研究AlGaN/GaN HEMT温度特性

通过对异质结材料上制作的肖特基结构变温C-V测量和传输线模型变温测量,研究了蓝宝石衬底AlGaN/GaN异质结高电子迁移率晶体管的直流特性在25～200℃之间的变化,分析了载流子浓度分布、沟道方块电阻、欧姆比接触电阻和缓冲层泄漏电流随温度的变化规律.得出了器件饱和电流随温度升高而下降主要由输运特性退化造成,沟道泄漏电流随温度的变化主要由栅泄漏电流引起的结论.同时,证明了GaN缓冲层漏电不是导致器件退化的主要原因.     

基于AlGaN/GaN HEMT的C波段功率放大器混合集成电路的设计

我们设计研制了一个基于Al GaN/GaN HEMT大功率放大器的混合集成电路.这个电路包含了1个10×120μm的HEMT晶体管,以及输入和输出匹配电路.在偏置条件为Vds=40 V,Ids=0.26 A时,输出连续波饱和功率在5.4 GHz达到37 dBm(5 W),最大的PAE为35.6%.在偏置条件为Vds=30 V,Ids=0.22 A时输出连续波饱和功率在5.4 GHz达到36.4dBm(4.4 W),最大的PAE为42.7%.     

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.     

凹槽栅场调制板结构AlGaN/GaN HEMT

研制的SiC衬底上的AlGaN/GaN微波功率HEMTs,采用凹槽栅和场调制板结构有效抑制了器件的电流崩塌,提高了器件的击穿电压和器件的微波功率特性.研制的1mm栅宽器件在8GHz,34V工作电压下,饱和输出功率达到了9.05W,功率增益为7.5dB,功率附加效率为46%.     

凹槽栅场调制板结构AlGaN/GaN HEMT

研制的SiC衬底上的AlGaN/GaN微波功率HEMTs,采用凹槽栅和场调制板结构有效抑制了器件的电流崩塌,提高了器件的击穿电压和器件的微波功率特性.研制的1mm栅宽器件在8GHz,34V工作电压下,饱和输出功率达到了9.05W,功率增益为7.5dB,功率附加效率为46%.     

Enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on silicon substrate

High-performance enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs (E-HEMTs) were demonstrated with samples grown on a low-cost silicon substrate for the first time. The fabrication process is based on a fluoride-based plasma treatment of the gate region and postgate annealing at 450 /spl deg/C. The fabricated E-HEMTs have nearly the same peak transconductance (G/sub m/) and cutoff frequencies as the conventional depletion-mode HEMTs fabricated on the same wafer, suggesting little mobility degradation caused by the plasma treatment.     

AlN阻挡层对AlGaN/GaNHEMT器件的影响

利用低压MOCVD技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长了AlGaN/GaN异质结和AlGaN/AlN/GaN异质结二维电子气材料,采用相同器件工艺制造出了AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件和AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT器件.通过对两种不同器件的比较和讨论,研究了AlN阻挡层的增加对AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件性能的影响.     

AlN阻挡层对AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件的影响

利用低压MOCVD技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长了AlGaN/GaN异质结和AlGaN/AlN/GaN异质结二维电子气材料,采用相同器件工艺制造出了AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件和AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT器件.通过对两种不同器件的比较和讨论,研究了AlN阻挡层的增加对AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件性能的影响.     

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。     

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.     

Electron transport in passivated AlGaN/GaN/Si HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN/Si high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated using direct-current and radio-frequency measurements. As has been found, the maximum of drain current achieves 881 mA/mm with an extrinsic current gain cutoff frequency of 37 GHz for a 0.25 µm gate length. Pulsed characteristics also showed a reduction of trapping centers that improves the quality of the epilayers.