Double-dopedIn0.35Al0.65As/In0.35Ga0.65As power heterojunction FET on GaAs substrate with 1 W outputpower

A double-doped metamorphic In_0.35Al_0.65As/In _0.35Ga_0.65As power heterojunction FET (HJFET) on GaAs substrate is demonstrated. The HJFET exhibits good dc characteristics, with gate forward turn on voltage of 1.0 V, breakdown voltage of 20 V, and maximum drain current of 490 mA/mm. Under RF operation at a frequency of 950 MHz, a power added efficiency of 63% with associated output power of 31.7 dBm is obtained at a gate width of 12.8 mm. This large gate width and state-of-the-art power performance in metamorphic HJFETS were enabled by a selective etching, sputtered WSi gate process and low surface roughness due to an Al_0.60Ga_0.40As_0.69Sb_0.31 strain relief buffer     

Enhanced power performance of enhancement-mode Al0.5Ga0.5As/In0.15Ga0.85As pHEMTs using alow-k BCB passivation

Surface passivation technology plays an important role, especially in E-mode pHEMTs applications, and a new passivation technology has been proposed in this study. This novel benzocyclobutene (BCB) passivation layer takes advantage of the low dielectric permittivity (2.7) and a low loss tangent (0.0008). In this letter, we not only suppress the gate-to-drain leakage current but also improve the device power performance under a high input power swing by using a BCB passivation layer. The passivated 1.0 μm-long gate pHEMTs exhibit a better off-state performance than the unpassivated ones. The maximum output power under a 2.4-GHz operation is 118 mW/mm, with a linear power gain of 11.1 dB and a power-added efficiency is 60%     

Self-assembled In0.5Ga0.5As quantum-dotlasers with doped active region

Self-assembled In_0.5Ga_0.5As quantum-dot lasers with different doping schemes in the active region are investigated. Their lasing wavelength, characteristic temperature, quantum efficiency, and internal loss are characterized and correlated with the size, uniformity, and density of the quantum dots as revealed by atomic force microscopy. Continuous-wave operation of Be-doped quantum-dot lasers has been achieved. Undoped In_0.5Ga_0.5 As quantum-dot lasers with a characteristic temperature as high as 125 K above room temperature have also been demonstrated     

Backgating in pseudomorphic In0.15Ga0.85As/Al0.25Ga0.75As MODFET's with a GaAs:Er buffer layer

A new GaAs:Er buffer layer grown by MBE has been developed which significantly reduces backgating currents (by 3 to 4 orders of magnitude) in pseudomorphic InGaAs/AlGaAs modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFET's). The buffer layer is highly resistive, in the 10 ²-10⁵ Ω·cm range over the Er-doping range investigated. Presence of internal Schottky barriers resulting from high-density ErAs precipitates has been proposed to he the cause of the high resistivity     

Buried-Pt gate InP/In0.52Al0.48As/In0.7Ga0.3As pseudomorphic HEMTs

InP-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were fabricated by depositing Pt-based multilayer metallization on top of a 6-nm-thick InP etch stop layer and then applying a post-annealing process. The performances of the fabricated 55-nm-gate HEMTs before and after the post-annealing were characterized and were compared to investigate the effect of the penetration of Pt through the very thin InP etch stop layer. After annealing at 250 °C for 5 min, the extrinsic transconductance (G_m) was increased from 1.05 to 1.17 S/mm and Schottky barrier height was increased from 0.63 to 0.66 eV. The unity current gain cutoff frequency (f_T) was increased from 351 to 408 GHz, and the maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) was increased from 225 to 260 GHz. These performance improvements can be attributed to penetration of the Pt through the 6-nm thick InP layer, and making contact on the InAlAs layer. The STEM image of the annealed device clearly shows that the Pt atoms contacted the InAlAs layer after penetrating through the InP layer.     

InP-based enhancement-mode pseudomorphic HEMT with strainedIn0.45Al0.55As barrier andIn0.75Ga0.25As channel layers

Using strained aluminum-rich In_0.45Al_0.55As as Schottky contact materials to enhance the barrier height and indium-rich In_0.75Ga_0.25As as channel material to enhance the channel performance, we have developed InP-based enhancement-mode pseudomorphic InAlAs/InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (E-PHEMT's) with threshold voltage of about 170 mv. A maximum extrinsic transconductance of 675 mS/mm and output conductance of 15 mS/mm are measured respectively at room temperature for 1 μm-gate-length devices, with an associated maximum drain current density of 420 mA/mm at gate voltage of 0.9 V. The devices also show excellent rf performance with cutoff frequency of 55 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency of 62 GHz. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that InP-based E-PHEMT's with strained InAlAs barrier layer have been demonstrated     

InP/In0.53Ga0.47As heterojunction bipolartransistors with a carbon-doped base grown by MOCVD

InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) utilizing a carbon-doped base have been demonstrated. The devices were grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) using carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) as the p-type dopant source. These devices exhibit a DC common-emitter current gain of 50 and an emitter-base junction ideality factor of 1.29 in a structure for which no undoped spacer layer was employed at the emitter-base junction. These preliminary results suggest that C-doping of In_0.53Ga_0.47As may be a suitable alternative to Zn in MOCVD-grown InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As HBTs     

Observation of negative differential resistance inAl0.2Ga0.8As/Al0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs double barrier resonant tunnelling structure

Negative differential resistance has been observed in the current/voltage characteristics of a double barrier resonant tunnelling structure with Al_0.2Ga_0.8As emitters, Al_0.4 Ga_0.6As barriers and GaAs quantum well for the first time. The NDR becomes clear at low temperatures below 77 K, and the current/voltage characteristic is asymmetric. Results demonstrate that high-quality abrupt GaAs-Al_xGa_1-xAs-Al_yGa_1-yAs heterojunctions can be of use in resonant tunnelling structures     

Band offsets of In0.30Ga0.70As/In0.29Al0.71As heterojunction grown on GaAs substrate

Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement was employed to study the band offsets of the In_0.30Ga_0.70As/In _0.29Al_0.71As heterojunction. The conduction band discontinuity was determined to be 0.71±0.05 eV which corresponds to a conduction band offset to bandgap difference ratio ~0.66. The comparison between experimental and theoretical results is presented     

Thermal stability of MISFET with low-temp molecular-beamepitaxy-grown GaAs and Al0.3Ga0.7As gate ins

GaAs and Al_0.3Ga_0.7As epilayers grown at LT by MBE were used as insulators in the fabrication of MISFET devices. Parametric changes were used to evaluate the thermal stability of MISFET, to identify failure mechanisms and validate the reliability of these devices. The LT-Al_0.3Ga_0.7As MISFET showed superior thermal stability. The degradation in the performance of MISFET with 1000 Å thick LT-GaAs gate insulator was worse than those of the MESFET. On the other hand, MISFET with 250 Å thick LT-GaAs gate insulators exhibited stable characteristics with thermal stressing, LF (low frequency) noise studies on the TLM structures of MISFET layers exhibited 1/f noise in the LT-Al_0.3Ga_0.7As samples and 250 Å LT-GaAs samples; whereas the 1000 Å thick LT-GaAs samples exhibited 1/f^3/2 noise, which was attributed to: (i) the thermal noise generated at the interface of the insulator, and (ii) the active layer due to the outdiffused metallic arsenic. Reverse gate-drain current degradation experiments were carried out at 120°C, 160°C, 200°C, and 240°C. Transconductance frequency dispersion studies were carried out before and after thermal stress on these MISFET. The transconductance of MISFET with 1000 Å LT-GaAs gate insulators was degraded by 40% at 100 kHz after thermal stress. The rest of the samples exhibited stable characteristics. These results indicate that composition changes had occurred at the interface in thicker LT-GaAs MISFET structures. Thinner LT-layers are ideal for achieving higher transconductance and better thermal stability without sacrificing the power capability of MISFET     

Ga0.47In0.53As metal-semiconductor-metalphotodiodes using a lattice mismatchedAl0.4Ga0.6As Schottky assist layer

Metal-semiconductor-metal photodiodes (MSM PDs) with Ga_0.47 In_0.53As active layers were fabricated. The low Schottky barrier height of GaInAs was overcome by the insertion of a lattice mismatched AlGaAs intermediary layer between metal and GaInAs active layer. Fabricated MSM PDs utilising interdigitated metal electrodes formed by a self-alignment technique showed a fast rise and fall time of 650 ps, which was limited by the capacitance of the device. The gain of the device was less than 1     

Electron transport in 0.15-μm gate In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As HEMT

Magneto-transport and cyclotron resonance measurements were made to determine directly the density, mobility, and the effective mass of the charge carriers in a high-performance 0.15-μm gate In_0.52 Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) at low temperatures. At the gate voltage V_G=0 V, the carrier density n _g under the gate is 9×10¹¹ cm^-2, while outside of the gate region n_g=2.1×10¹² cm^-2. The mobility under the gate at 4.2 K is as low as 400 cm²/V-s when V_G<0.1 V and rapidly approaches 11000 cm²/V-s when V_G>0.1 V. The existence of this high mobility threshold is crucial to the operation of the device and sets its high-performance region in V_G>0.1 V     

Ka-band monolithic amplifier using 0.5 mu m gate length ion-implanted GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction FET technology

Monolithic, two-stage amplifiers using 0.5*80 mu m/sup 2/ gate GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction FETs have been developed for Ka-band operation. These monolithic two-stage amplifiers were fabricated using ion implantation for the active layer and optical lithography for the 0.5 mu m gate length. MMIC two-stage amplifiers achieved average gains of 12.6+or-1.4 dB at 30 GHz and 8.8+or-2.0 dB at 40 GHz, respectively, for all 39 sites across a three inch diameter wafer. These are the first reported results for MMIC two-stage amplifiers using 0.5 mu m gate length ion-implanted GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction FETs achieving over 10 dB gain at Ka band.<>     

DC and AC characteristics ofAL0.25Ga0.75As/GaAs quantum-well delta-dopedchannel FET grown by LP-MOCVD

Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/GaAs quantum well delta-doped channel FETs (QWDFETs) have been successfully fabricated by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD). The FETs with a gate dimension of 1.8 μm×100 μm had a maximum extrinsic transconductance of 190 mS/mm and a maximum current density of 425 mA/mm. The device showed extremely broad transconductances around its peak. The S-parameter measurements indicated that the current gain and power gain cutoff frequencies of the device were 7 and 15 GHz, respectively. The transconductance versus gate voltage profiles showed a plateau region through a range of 1.7 V supporting spatial confinement of the electrons. These values are among the best reported for delta-doped GaAs-based FETs with a similar device geometry     

Self-alignedIn0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As heterojunction bipolar transistors with graded interface onsemi-insulating InP grown by molecular beam epitaxy

A self aligned In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53 Ga_0.47As double heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) with a graded heterointerface has been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and tested. The DC characteristics of HBT structures with a compositionally graded junction using a linear graded In_0.53Ga_0.47-xAl_xAs between two ternary layers were investigated. Typical quaternary graded devices with an emitter dimension of 50×50 μm² exhibited a current gain as high as 1260, as compared to 800 for abrupt devices, at a collector current density of 2.8×10³ A/cm²     

High-efficiency enhancement-mode power heterojunction FET with buried p/sup +/-GaAs gate structure for low-voltage-operated mobile applications

This letter describes a successfully developed enhancement-mode double-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction FET with a buried p/sup +/-n junction gate structure for low-voltage-operated mobile applications. The buried p/sup +/-GaAs gate structure effectively reduced on-resistance (R/sub on/) and suppressed drain-current frequency dispersion for the device with high positive threshold voltage, resulting in high-efficiency characteristics under low-voltage operation. The fabricated p/sup +/-gate HJFET exhibited a low R/sub on/ of 1.4 /spl Omega//spl middot/mm with a threshold voltage of +0.4 V. Negligible frequency dispersion characteristics were obtained through pulsed current-voltage measurements for the device. Under a single 2.7-V operation, a 19.8-mm gate width device exhibited a power added efficiency of 51.9% with 26.8-dBm output power and a -40.1-dBc adjacent channel power ratio using a 1.95-GHz wideband code-division multiple-access signal.     

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     

Modeling and experimental results for C(V) in anabrupt isotype n Al0.5Ga0.5As/GaAs heterojunction

The differential capacitance C of an abrupt isotype n Al_0.5 Ga_0.5As/GaAs heterojunction has been modeled by directly calculating the dependence of the space charge on the voltage V at its terminals. The electron charge distribution was calculated considering the 2-D electron gas by simultaneously solving the Schrodinger and the Poisson equations, DX centers included. Results from this model predict an asymmetric bell-shape dependence of C on V, with a maximum near the contact potential, and are in good agreement with experiment. This further provides experimental evidence of Γ-Γ and X-X valley coupling for electrons traveling across the heterojunction. For voltage values not too close to the contact potential, it was possible to find a simple method, based on a total depletion, that gives a good fit to experiment     

Impact of surface layer on In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP high electron mobilitytransistors

The surface potential of FETs has shown a strong effect on the channel potential and charge control in the channel. A study of the role of undoped versus doped cap layers in In_0.52Al_0.48As-In_0.53Ga_0.47 As-InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT) is discussed. As the result of surface potential effect, direct comparison of 0.3×150-μm² gate devices yielded improved gate breakdown characteristics and a DC output conductance of less than 15 mS/mm for the surface undoped structure compared to 50 mS/mm for the doped structure. The surface undoped MEMT achieved a very high maximum stable gain of 19.2 dB compared to 16.0 dB for the surface doped HEMT at 18 GHz, largely due to the improved g_m/g ₀ ratio. This study demonstrates that control of the surface potential in In_0.52Al_0.48As-In_0.53Ga _0.47As-InP HEMTs is consistent with the effect of a gate recess in MESFETs. This study also shows that, in achieving high-gain applications of HEMTs, the surface potential near the gate edge should be optimized through unconventional surface layer design     

High-performance In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As HFET compatible with optical-detectorintegration

The authors report the successful demonstration of a 1.0-μm gate InAlAs/InGaAs heterojunction FET (HFET) on top of thick InGaAs layers using lattice-matched molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). This scheme is compatible with metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector fabrication. The authors measured the performance of InAlAs/InGaAs HFETs from 0 to 40 GHz. Device performance is characterized by peak extrinsic transconductances of 390 mS/mm and as-measured cutoff frequencies up to 30 GHz for a nominal 1.0-μm-gate-length HFET. HFET device measurements are compared for samples growth with and without the thick underlying InGaAs optical-detector absorbing layer