Comparative study of AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors with Al2O3 and HfO2 gate oxide

AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs) with Al₂O₃ gate oxide which was deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were fabricated and their performance was then compared with that of AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs with HfO₂ gate oxide. The capacitance (C)-voltage (V) curve of the Al₂O₃/GaN MOS diodes showed a lower hysteresis and lower interface state density than the C-V curve of the HfO₂/GaN diodes, indicating better quality of the Al₂O₃/GaN interface. The saturation of drain current in the I_D-V_GS relation of the Al₂O₃ AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs was not as pronounced as that of the HfO₂ AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs. The gate leakage current of the Al₂O₃ MOSHFET was five to eight orders of magnitude smaller than that of the HfO₂ MOSHFETs.     

RF and microwave characteristics of a 10 nm thick InGaN-channel gate recessed HEMT

A new depletion-mode gate recessed AlGaN/InGaN/GaN-high electron mobility transistor(HEMT)with 10 nm thickness of InGaN-channel is proposed.A growth of AlGaN over GaN leads to the formation of twodimensional electron gas(2DEG)at the heterointerface.High 2DEG density(ns)is achieved at the heterointerface due to a strain induced piezoelectric effect between AlGaN and GaN layers.The electrons are confined in the InGaN-channel without spilling over into the buffer layer,which also reduces the buffer leakage current.From the input transfer characteristics the threshold voltage is obtained as 4:5 V and the device conducts a current of 2 A/mm at a drain voltage of 10 V.The device also shows a maximum output current density of 1.8 A/mm at Vds of 3 V.The microwave characteristics like transconductance,cut-off frequency,max frequency of oscillation and Mason’s Unilateral Gain of the device are studied by AC small-signal analysis using a two-port network.The stability and power performance of the device are analyzed by the Smith chart and polar plots respectively.To our knowledge this proposed InGaN-channel HEMT structure is the first of its kind.     

Characterization of ALD Beryllium Oxide as a Potential High-k Gate Dielectric for Low-Leakage AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMTs

The chemical and electrical characteristics of atomic layer deposited (ALD) beryllium oxide (BeO) on GaN were studied via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, current–voltage, and capacitance–voltage measurements and compared with those of ALD Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ on GaN. Radiofrequency (RF) and power electronics based on AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors are maturing rapidly, but leakage current reduction and interface defect (D _it) minimization remain heavily researched. BeO has received recent attention as a high-k gate dielectric due to its large band gap (10.6 eV) and thermal stability on InGaAs and Si, but little is known about its performance on GaN. Unintentionally doped GaN was cleaned in dilute aqueous HCl immediately prior to BeO deposition (using diethylberyllium and H₂O precursors). Formation of an interfacial layer was observed in as-deposited samples, similar to the layer formed during ALD HfO₂ deposition on GaN. Postdeposition anneal (PDA) at 700°C and 900°C had little effect on the observed BeO binding state, confirming the strength of the bond, but led to increased Ga oxide formation, indicating the presence of unincorporated oxygen in the dielectric. Despite the interfacial layer, gate leakage current of 1.1 × 10^?7 A/cm² was realized, confirming the potential of ALD BeO for use in low-leakage AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors.     

Comparison of electrical characteristics between AlGaN/GaN and lattice-matched InAlN/GaN heterostructure Schottky barrier diodes

Lattice-matched Pt/Au–In_0.17Al_0.83N/GaN hetreojunction Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with circular planar structure have been fabricated. The electrical characteristics of InAlN/GaN SBD, such as two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density, turn-on voltage, Schottky barrier height, reverse breakdown voltage and the forward current-transport mechanisms, are investigated and compared with those of a conventional AlGaN/GaN SBD. The results show that, despite the higher Schottky barrier height, more dislocations in InAlN layer causes a larger leakage current and lower reverse breakdown voltage than the AlGaN/GaN SBD. The emission microscopy images of past-breakdown device suggest that a horizontal premature breakdown behavior attributed to the large leakage current happens in the InAlN/GaN SBD, differing from the vertical breakdown in the AlGaN/GaN SBD.     

Oxide interfacial charge engineering towards normally-off AlN/GaN MOSHEMT

In this paper a detail insight into the role of oxide/barrier interfacial charges (N_ox) for shifting the threshold voltage (V_T) of AlN/GaN metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOSHEMTs) is gained. A model is developed for V_T considering all possible charges arise at different interfaces. To validate the model the proposed device is simulated by considering different insulators and N_ox into account. It is very fascinating to observe that V_T is highly sensitive towards change in N_ox at higher oxide dimensions, whereas at lower dimensions N_ox has very negligible effect. Normally-off operation can be achieved by increasing or decreasing N_ox in MOSHEMT with Al₂O₃ or HfO₂ as gate dielectric respectively.     

Synthesis and characterization of p-type NiO films suitable for normally-off AlGaN/GaN HFETs application

p-type NiO films were prepared at different oxidizing temperatures in O₂ ambient for normally-off AlGaN/GaN HFETs application. The crystalline structure, electrical properties and band gap of NiO films are dependent upon temperatures. Compared with the conventional Ni-gated HFETs, NiO-gated HFETs present positively shifted threshold voltage and smaller gate leakage current, while the drain current density shows slightly degradation. Combining the recess structure and NiO gate, normally-off GaN HFETs was achieved with a threshold voltage of approximately 0.5 V. The band diagram of the NiO/AlGaN/GaN structure demonstrates that the p-type conductivity and large conduction band offset between NiO and GaN cause the lift-up potential, which result in 2DEG depletion and positive threshold voltage shift.     

Recessed-gate structure approach toward normally off high-Voltage AlGaN/GaN HEMT for power electronics applications

A recessed-gate structure has been studied with a view to realizing normally off operation of high-voltage AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) for power electronics applications. The recessed-gate structure is very attractive for realizing normally off high-voltage AlGaN/GaN HEMTs because the gate threshold voltage can be controlled by the etching depth of the recess without significant increase in on-resistance characteristics. With this structure the threshold voltage can be increased with the reduction of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density only under the gate electrode without reduction of 2DEG density in the other channel regions such as the channel between drain and gate. The threshold-voltage increase was experimentally demonstrated. The threshold voltage of fabricated recessed-gate device increased to -0.14 V while the threshold voltage without the recessed-gate structure was about -4 V. The specific on-resistance of the device was maintained as low as 4 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ and the breakdown voltage was 435 V. The on-resistance and the breakdown voltage tradeoff characteristics were the same as those of normally on devices. From the viewpoint of device design, the on-resistance for the normally off device was modeled using the relationship between the AlGaN layer thickness under the gate electrode and the 2DEG density. It is found that the MIS gate structure and the recess etching without the offset region between recess edge and gate electrode will further improve the on-resistance. The simulation results show the possibility of the on-resistance below 1 m/spl Omega//spl middot/cm/sup 2/ for normally off AlGaN/GaN HEMTs operating at several hundred volts with threshold voltage up to +1 V.     

Atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 and HfO2 on GaN: A comparative study on interfaces and electrical characteristics

Al₂O₃, HfO₂, and composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ films were deposited on n-type GaN using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The interfacial layer of GaON and HfON was observed between HfO₂ and GaN, whereas the absence of an interfacial layer at Al₂O₃/GaN was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The dielectric constants of Al₂O₃, HfO₂, and composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ calculated from the C-V measurement are 9, 16.5, and 13.8, respectively. The Al₂O₃ employed as a template in the composite structure has suppressed the interfacial layer formation during the subsequent ALD-HfO₂ and effectively reduced the gate leakage current. While the dielectric constant of the composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ film is lower than that of HfO₂, the composite structure provides sharp oxide/GaN interface without interfacial layer, leading to better electrical properties.     

An AlN/Ultrathin AlGaN/GaN HEMT Structure for Enhancement-Mode Operation Using Selective Etching

A novel device structure incorporating an ultrathin AlGaN barrier layer capped by an AlN layer in the source–drain access regions has been implemented to reliably control threshold voltage in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors. A recessed-gate structure has been used to decrease 2-D electron gas (2DEG) density under the gate, thus controlling threshold voltage while maintaining low on-resistance and high current density. The structure presented in this letter implements an ultrathin AlGaN structure grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition capped with AlN to maintain a high 2DEG density in the access regions. A selective wet etch using heated photoresist developer is used to selectively etch the AlN layer in the gate region to the AlGaN barrier. We have demonstrated a repeatable threshold voltage of $+$ 0.21 V with 4-nm AlGaN barrier layer thickness.      

Model Development for Current–Voltage and Transconductance Characteristics of Normally-off AlN/GaN MOSHEMT

In this paper, an AlN/GaN-based MOSHEMT is proposed, in accordance to this, a charge control model has been developed analytically and simulated with MATLAB to predict the characteristics of threshold voltage, drain currents and transconductance. The physics based models for 2DEG density, threshold voltage and quantum capacitance in the channel has been put forward. By using these developed models, the drain current for both linear and saturation models is derived. The predicted threshold voltage with the variation of barrier thickness has been plotted. A positive threshold voltage can be obtained by decreasing the barrier thickness which builds up the foundation for enhancement mode MOSHEMT devices. The predicted I_d–V_gs, I_d–V_ds and transconductance characteristics show an excellent agreement with the experimental results and hence validate the model.     

Effect of Fluoride‐based Plasma Treatment on the Performance of AlGaN/GaN MISHFET

This paper demonstrates the effect of fluoride‐based plasma treatment on the performance of Al₂O₃/AlGaN/GaN metal‐insulator‐semiconductor heterostructure field effect transistors (MISHFETs) with a T‐shaped gate length of 0.20 μm. For the fabrication of the MISHFET, an Al₂O₃ layer as a gate dielectric was deposited using atomic layer deposition, which greatly decreases the gate leakage current, followed by the deposition of the silicon nitride layer. The silicon nitride layer on the gate foot region was then selectively removed through a reactive ion etching technique using CF₄ plasma. The etching process was continued for a longer period of time even after the complete removal of the silicon nitride layer to expose the Al₂O₃ gate dielectric layer to the plasma environment. The thickness of the Al₂O₃ gate dielectric layer was slowly reduced during the plasma exposure. Through this plasma treatment, the device exhibited a threshold voltage shift of 3.1 V in the positive direction, an increase of 50 mS/mm in trans conductance, a degraded off‐state performance and a larger gate leakage current compared with that of the reference device without a plasma treatment.     

Effect of underlap and gate length on device performance of an AlInN/GaN underlap MOSFET

We investigate the performance of an 18 nm gate length AlInN/GaN heterostructure underlap double gate MOSFET, using 2D Sentaurus TCAD simulation. The device uses lattice-matched wideband Al_0.83In_0.17N and narrowband GaN layers, along with high-k Al₂O₃ as the gate dielectric. The device has an ultrathin body and is designed according to the ITRS specifications. The simulation is done using the hydrodynamic model and interface traps are also considered. Due to the large two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density and high velocity, the maximal drain current density achieved is very high. Extensive device simulation of the major device performance metrics such as drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL), subthreshold slope (SS), delay, threshold voltage (V_t), I_on/I_off ratio and energy delay product have been done for a wide range of gate and underlap lengths. Encouraging results for delay, I_on, DIBL and energy delay product are obtained. The results indicate that there is a need to optimize the I_off and SS values for specific logic design. The proposed AlInN/GaN heterostructure underlap DG MOSFET shows excellent promise as one of the candidates to substitute currently used MOSFETs for future high speed applications.     

Flat band voltage modulation of AlGaN/GaN MOS capacitor with stacked Al2O3/La2O3 high dielectric structures

AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor structures using atomic layer deposited high-dielectric-constant (High-k) Al₂O₃/La₂O₃ bilayer films as dielectric have been investigated using high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurement. The stable thickness and uniform surface morphology of the bilayer films with different La/Al deposition cycle ratio (La/Al ratio) were observed after rapid thermal annealing by spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy, respectively. We have found that with a decrease of the La/Al ratio, the dipole layer observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at Al₂O₃/La₂O₃ interfaces is close to the surface of semiconductor and the flat band voltage shifts to the negative direction. Furthermore, the dramatic drop in dielectric constant of the films as La/Al ratio decrease was caused by the formation of La(OH)₃ in La₂O₃. Finally, the reason for the flat band voltage shifts, which is based on the dielectric constant of Al₂O₃ and La₂O₃ comprising the position of dipole layer in the dielectric films, is proposed.     

Polarization-Engineered Ga-Face GaN-Based Heterostructures for Normally-Off Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors

Polarization-engineered Ga-face GaN-based heterostructures with a GaN cap layer and an AlGaN/p-GaN back barrier have been designed for normally-off field-effect transistors (FETs). The simulation results show that an unintentionally doped GaN cap and p-GaN layer in the buffer primarily deplete electrons in the channel and the Al_0.2Ga_0.8N back barrier helps to pinch off the channel. Experimentally, we have demonstrated a normally-off GaN-based field-effect transistor on the designed GaN cap/Al_0.3Ga_0.7N/GaN channel/Al_0.2Ga_0.8N/p-GaN/GaN heterostructure. A positive threshold voltage of 0.2 V and maximum transconductance of 2.6 mS/mm were achieved for 80-μm-long gate devices. The device fabrication process does not require a dry etching process for gate recessing, while highly selective etching of the GaN cap against a very thin Al_0.3GaN_0.7N top barrier has to be performed to create a two-dimensional electron gas for both the ohmic and access regions. A self-aligned, selective etch of the GaN cap in the access region is introduced, using the gate metal as an etch mask. The absence of gate recess etching is promising for uniform and repeatable threshold voltage control in normally-off AlGaN/GaN heterostructure FETs for power switching applications.     

Direct Determination of Energy Band Alignments of Ni/Al2O3/GaN MOS Structures Using Internal Photoemission Spectroscopy

The energy band alignments of Ni/Al₂O₃/GaN heterostructures have been explored by internal photoemission (IPE) and capacitance–voltage (CV) measurements. By performing IPE measurements at both reverse- and forward-bias conditions, the Ni/Al₂O₃ Schottky barrier is found to be 2.9 ± 0.1 eV with the presence of a strong image force lowering effect, while the Al₂O₃/GaN conduction-band offset is determined to be 2.2 ± 0.1 eV and is insensitive to oxide electrical field. CV-based flat-band voltage analysis has further been performed on samples with different oxide thicknesses, not only confirming the IPE-measured band alignment but also revealing the presence of 3.0 × 10¹² cm^-2 net positive charge at the Al₂O₃/GaN interface.     

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.     

AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN双异质结材料生长及性质研究

基于能带理论设计并利用MOCVD技术在76.2 mm蓝宝石衬底上生长了不同GaN沟道层厚度的AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN双异质结材料.室温霍尔测试结果表明:双异质结材料的二维电子气面密度随沟道层厚度增加有所升高并趋于饱和;二维电子气迁移率则随沟道厚度增加明显升高.200 nm厚GaN沟道的双异质结材料方块电阻平均值3...     

影响AlGaN/GaN HFET器件二维电子气的若干因素

基于Sentaurus Workbench(SWB)TCAD可制造性设计平台进行AlGaN/GaN器件的结构设计和仿真,并对影响二维电子气的重要参数因素进行了研究及优化,诸如AlGaN势垒层中Al组分x、AlGaN势垒层厚度h、应变弛豫度r和栅偏压Vg等因素。参数相关性的制约结果,无疑会反映在对器件物理特性的制约及影响上。研究结果表明,在一定条件下增大势垒层中Al组分和势垒层厚度可以提高器件的电流传输特性。然而随着二者的不断增大将会引起应变弛豫的发生,而应变弛豫的发生会降低器件的性能。     

Performance analysis of 20 nm gate-length In0.2Al0.8N/GaN HEMT with Cu-gate having a remarkable high ION/IOFF ratio

Abstract： We propose a new structure of InxAll-xN/GaN high electron mobility transistor （HEMT） with gate length of 20 nm. The threshold voltage of this HEMT is achieved as -0.472 V. In this device the InA1N barrier layer is intentionally n-doped to boost the ION/IOFF ratio. The InAlN layer acts as donor barrier layer for this HEMT which exhibits an ION = 10-4.3 A and a very low IOFF = 10-14.4 A resulting in an ION/IoFF ratio of 1010.1. We compared our obtained results with the conventional InAlN/GaN HEMT device having undoped barrier and found that the proposed device has almost l0s times better ION/IOFF ratio. Further, the mobility analysis in GaN channel of this proposed HEMT structure along with DC analysis, C-V and conductance characteristics by using small-signal analysis are also presented in this paper. Moreover, the shifts in threshold voltage by DIBL effect and gate leakage current in the proposed HEMT are also discussed. InAlN was chosen as the most preferred barrier layer as a replacement of AlGaN for its excellent thermal conductivity and very good scalability.