0.15-$muhboxm$-Gate InAlAs/InGaAs/InP E-HEMTs Utilizing Ir/Ti/Pt/Au Gate Structure

High-current 0.15-mum-gate enhancement-mode high-electron mobility transistors utilizing Ir/Ti/Pt/Au gate metallization were fabricated using a new process including a high-temperature gate anneal that is required for Schottky-barrier height enhancement for the Ir-based gate contact. SiN_x encapsulation was employed to prevent thermal degradation of device layer during the high-temperature gate anneal. Excellent enhancement-mode operation, with a threshold voltage of 0.1 V and I_DSS of 2.1 mA/mm, was realized. Both the annealed and unannealed devices exhibited high g_m,max and I_D,max of 800 mS/mm and 430 mA/mm, respectively. A unity current-gain cutoff frequency f_T of 151 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency f_MAX of 172 GHz were achieved. From the dc and RF characteristics, it can be deduced that there was no degradation of the gate contact and the heterostructure due to gate annealing. Furthermore, it was found that the gate diffusion during gate annealing was negligible since no increase in g_m,max was observed     

Investigation of Impact Ionization in InAs-Channel HEMT for High-Speed and Low-Power Applications

An 80-nm InP high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with InAs channel and InGaAs subchannels has been fabricated. The high current gain cutoff frequency (f_t) of 310 GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) of 330 GHz were obtained at V_DS = 0.7 V due to the high electron mobility in the InAs channel. Performance degradation was observed on the cutoff frequency (f_t) and the corresponding gate delay time caused by impact ionization due to a low energy bandgap in the InAs channel. DC and RF characterizations on the device have been performed to determine the proper bias conditions in avoidance of performance degradations due to the impact ionization. With the design of InGaAs/InAs/InGaAs composite channel, the impact ionization was not observed until the drain bias reached 0.7 V, and at this bias, the device demonstrated very low gate delay time of 0.63 ps. The high performance of the InAs/InGaAs HEMTs demonstrated in this letter shows great potential for high-speed and very low-power logic applications.     

Gate length scaling in high performance InGaP/InGaAs/GaAs pHEMTs

The performance of InGaP-based pHEMTs as a function of gate length has been examined experimentally. The direct-current and microwave performance of pHEMTs with gate lengths ranging from 1.0-0.2 μm has been evaluated. Extrinsic transconductances from 341 mS/mm for 1.0 μm gate lengths to 456 mS/mm for 0.5 μm gate lengths were obtained. High-speed device operation has been verified, with f_t of 93 GHz and f_max of 130 GHz for 0.2 μm gate lengths. The dependence of DC and small-signal device parameters on gate length has been examined, and scaling effects in InGaP-based pHEMT's are examined and compared to those for AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pHEMTs. High-field transport in InGaP/InGaAs heterostructures is found to be similar to that of AlGaAs/InGaAs heterostructures. The lower ϵ_r of InGaP relative to AlGaAs is shown to be responsible for the early onset of short-channel effects in InGaP-based devices     

RF power LDMOSFET on SOI

We have fabricated a SOI laterally diffused MOSFET that is designed for use in radio frequency power amplifiers for wireless system-on-a-chip applications. The device is fabricated on a thin-film SOI wafer using a process that is suitable for integration with SOI CMOS. An under-source body contact is implemented and both a high breakdown voltage and a high f_t are attained. The device performance compares favorably with bulk silicon rf power MOSFETs. For a gate length of 0.7 μm the device f_t is 14 GHz, f_max is 18 GHz, and the breakdown voltage approaches 25 V     

Performance of interface engineeredSiNx/ICL/InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP dopedchannel HIGFET's

SiN_x/InP/InGaAs doped channel passivated heterojunction insulated gate field effect transistors (HIGFETs) have been fabricated for the first time using an improved In-S interface control layer (ICL). The insulated gate HIGFETs exhibit very low gate leakage (10 nA@V_GS =±5 V) and I_DS (sat) of 250 mA/mm. The doped channel improves the DC characteristics and the HIGFETs show transconductance of 140-150 mS/mm (L_g=2 μm), f_t of 5-6 GHz (L_g=3 μm), and power gain of 14.2 dB at 3 GHz. The ICL HIGFET technology is promising for high frequency applications     

Super low-noise HEMTs with a T-shaped WSix gate

A T-shaped quarter-micron gate structure composed of WSi_x /Ti/Pt/Au has been developed for low-noise AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs. The gate resistance R_g was reduced to 0.3 Ω for devices with 200 μm-wide gates despite using WSi_x, and the source resistance R_s reached 0.28 Ω mm by minimising the source-gate distance using a self-alignment technique. This HEMT exhibited the lowest reported noise figure of 0.54 dB with an associated gain of 12.1 dB at 12 GHz     

All-refractory GaAs FET using amorphous TiWSixsource/drain metallization and graded-InxGa1-xAslayers

We report on the fabrication of an all-refractory GaAs field-effect transistor having non-alloyed source and drain ohmic contacts and a TiW/Au refractory gate metallization. The ohmic contacts consist of amorphous TiWSi_x metallization and intervening graded InGaAs layers grown by low pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (LPOMVPE). The amorphous TiWSi_x, is formed using alternating layers of TiW(10 Å) and Si(1.5 Å) deposited by an RF magnetron sputtering technique. The resulting all-refractory FET devices exhibited excellent dc transistor characteristics with measured transconductance of 140 mS/mm. The dc performance of these devices was comparable to conventional devices with AuGe/Ni/Au contacts fabricated using similar material structures     

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on a (001)-Oriented Silicon Substrate Based on 100-nm SiN Recessed Gate Technology for Microwave Power Amplification

AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors on (001)-oriented silicon substrates with a 0.1-mum gamma-shaped gate length are fabricated. The gate technology is based on a silicon nitride (SiN) thin film and uses a digital etching technique to perform the recess through the SiN mask. An output current density of 420 mA/mm and an extrinsic transconductance g_m of 228 mS/mm are measured on 300-mum gate-periphery devices. An extrinsic cutoff frequency f_t of 28 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency f_max of 46 GHz are deduced from S-parameter measurements. At 2.15 GHz, an output power density of 1 W/mm that is associated to a power-added efficiency of 17% and a linear gain of 24 dB are achieved at V_DS = 30 V and V_GS = -1.2 V.     

Noise performance of low power 0.25 micron gate ion implantedD-mode GaAs MESFET for wireless applications

We report on the noise performance of low power 0.25 μm gate ion implanted D-mode GaAs MESFETs suitable for wireless personal communication applications. The 0.25 μm×200 μm D-mode MESFET has a f_t of 18 GHz and f_max of 33 GHz at a power level of 1 mW (power density of 5 mW/mm). The noise characteristics at 4 GHz for the D-mode MESFET are F_min=0.65 dB and G_assoc =13 dB at 1 mW. These results demonstrate that the GaAs D-mode MESFET is also an excellent choice for low power personal communication applications     

Delta-doped AlGaN/AlN/GaN microwave HFETs grown by metalorganicchemical vapour deposition

The performance of an innovative delta-doped AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistor (HFET) structure is reported. The epitaxial heterostructures were grown on semi-insulating SiC substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. These structures exhibit a maximum carrier mobility of 1058 cm²/V s and a sheet carrier density of 2.35×10¹³ cm^-2 at room temperature, corresponding to a large n_s μ_n product of 2.49×10¹⁶ V s. HFET devices with 0.25 μm gate length were fabricated and exhibited a maximum current density as high as 1.5 A/mm (at V_G=+1 V) and a peak transconductance of g_m=240 mS/mm. High-frequency device measurements yielded a cutoff frequency of f_t≃50 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency f_max≃130 GHz     

Fabrication and Performance of 0.25-$mu$m Gate Length Depletion-Mode GaAs-Channel MOSFETs With Self-Aligned InAlP Native Oxide Gate Dielectric

The fabrication and performance of 0.25- mum gate length GaAs-channel MOSFETs using the wet thermal native oxide of InAlP as the gate dielectric are reported. A fabrication process that self-aligns the gate oxidation to the gate recess and metallization to reduce the source access resistance is demonstrated for the first time. The fabricated devices exhibit a peak extrinsic transconductance of 144 mS/mm, an on-resistance of 3.46 Omega-mm, and a threshold voltage of -1.8 V for typical 0.25 -mum gate devices. A record cutoff frequency of 31 GHz for a GaAs-channel MOSFET and a maximum frequency of oscillation f_max of 47 GHz have also been measured.     

Ga2O3(Gd2O3)/InGaAsenhancement-mode n-channel MOSFETs

We have demonstrated the first Ga₂O₃(Gd₂O₃) insulated gate n-channel enhancement-mode In_0.53Ga_0.47As MOSFET's on InP semi-insulating substrate. Ga₂O₃(Gd₂ O₃) was electron beam deposited from a high purity single crystal Ga₅Gd₃O₁₂ source. The source and drain regions of the device were selectively implanted with Si to produce low resistance ohmic contacts. A 0.75-μm gate length device exhibits an extrinsic transconductance of 190 mS/mm, which is an order of magnitude improvement over previously reported enhancement-mode InGaAs MISFETs. The current gain cutoff frequency, f_t, and the maximum frequency of oscillation, f_max, of 7 and 10 GHz were obtained, respectively, for a 0.75×100 μm² gate dimension device at a gate voltage of 3 V and drain voltage of 2 V     

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on resistive Si(111) substrate grown by gas-sourceMBE

Al_0.3Ga_0.7N/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures have been grown on resistive Si(111) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using ammonia (NH₃). The use of an AlN/GaN intermediate layer allows a resistive buffer layer to be obtained. High sheet carrier density and high electron mobility arc obtained in the channel. A device with 0.5 μm gate length has been realised exhibiting a maximum extrinsic transconductance of 160 mS/mm and drain-source current exceeding 600 mA/mm. Small-signal measurements show f_t of 17 GHz and f_max of 40 GHz     

High performance GaAs JFET with shallow implanted Cd-gate

Shallow p⁺-regions in GaAs, formed by Cd ion implantation, have been used as the gate region for GaAs JFETs. 0.7 μm gate length JFETs demonstrated a transconductance of 165 mS/mm a saturation current of 130 mA/mm, an f_t of 26 GHz, and an f _max of 42 GHz. These frequency metrics are superior to previous Zn-gate JFETs of similar dimensions     

Undoped AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for microwave power amplification

Undoped AlGaN/GaN structures are used to fabricate high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Using the strong spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization inherent in this crystal structure a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is induced. Three-dimensional (3-D) nonlinear thermal simulations are made to determine the temperature rise from heat dissipation in various geometries. Epitaxial growth by MBE and OMVPE are described, reaching electron mobilities of 1500 and 1700 cm ²/Ns, respectively, For electron sheet density near 1×10¹³/cm², Device fabrication is described, including surface passivation used to sharply reduce the problematic current slump (dc to rf dispersion) in these HEMTs. The frequency response, reaching an intrinsic f_t of 106 GHz for 0.15 μm gates, and drain-source breakdown voltage dependence on gate length are presented. Small periphery devices on sapphire substrates have normalized microwave output power of ~4 W/mm, while large periphery devices have ~2 W/mm, both thermally limited. Performance, without and with Si₃N₄ passivation are presented. On SiC substrates, large periphery devices have electrical limits of 4 W/mm, due in part to the limited development of the substrates     

Advanced thin-film silicon-on-sapphire technology: microwavecircuit applications

This paper reviews the prospects of thin-film silicon-on-sapphire (TFSOS) CMOS technology in microwave applications in the 1-5 GHz regime and beyond and presents the first demonstration of microwave integrated circuits based on this technology, MOSFET's optimized for microwave use, with 0.5-μm optically defined gate lengths and a T-gate structure, have f_t values of 25 GHz (14 GHz) and f_max values of 66 GHz (41 GHz) for n-channel (p-channel) devices and have noise figure values below 1 db at 2 GHz, some of the best reported performance characteristics of any silicon-based MOSFET's to date. On-chip spiral inductors exhibit quality factors above ten. Circuit performance compares favorably with that of other CMOS-based technologies and approach performance levels similar to those obtained by silicon bipolar technologies. The results demonstrate the significant potential of this technology for microwave applications     

Gate current and oxide reliability in p+ poly MOScapacitors with poly-Si and poly-Ge0.3Si0.7 gatematerial

Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunnel current and oxide reliability of PRiLOS capacitors with a p⁺ polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) and polycrystalline germanium-silicon (poly-Ge_0.3Si_0.7 ) gate on 5.6-nm thick gate oxides have been compared. It is shown that the FN current depends on the gate material and the bias polarity. The tunneling barrier heights, φ_B, have been determined from FN-plots. The larger barrier height for negative bias, compared to positive bias, suggests that electron injection takes place from the valence band of the gate. This barrier height for the GeSi gate is 0.4 eV lower than for the Si gate due to the higher valence band edge position. Charge-to-breakdown (Q_bd) measurements show improved oxide reliability of the GeSi gate on of PMOS capacitors with 5.6 nm thick gate oxide. We confirm that workfunction engineering in deep submicron MOS technologies using poly-GeSi gates is possible without limiting effects of the gate currents and oxide reliability     

AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs for 10-Gb/s ICs using a new base ohmic contactfabrication process

A new basic ohmic contact technology for AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) is presented. The effect of the device parameters on the high-frequency performance of HBT ICs for 10-Gb/s systems is analyzed, and it is shown that, at a cutoff frequency (f_T) of 40 GHz or more, reducing base resistance or collector capacitance is more effective than increasing f_T for obtaining high-frequency performance. A process is developed for fabricating base electrodes with a very low ohmic contact resistivity, ~10^-7 Ω-cm², by using a AuZn/Mo/Au alloy, which provides the required high performance. Self-aligned AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs, with a 2.5-μm×5-μm emitter, using a AuZn/Mo/Au alloy base metal and an undoped GaAs collector, are shown to have an f_T and a maximum oscillation frequency of about 45 and 70 GHz, respectively, at 3.5 mA. An AGC amplifier with a 20-dB gain and a bandwidth of 13.7 GHz demonstrates stable performance     

N-channel depletion-mode InP FET with enhanced barrier height gates

The fabrication of an n-channel depletion-mode InP field-effect transistor (FET) with enhanced barrier height gates, using a surface passivation technique that substantially increases the barrier height (Φ_b=0.83 eV) of InP, is reported. The transistors demonstrate characteristics with excellent pinch-off, flat saturation, transconductance in the range of 60-68 mS/mm, and no indication of the onset of breakdown for drain-source biases in excess of 35 V. They are shown to be highly stable, with no observable drain current drift over a period of more than 24 h of testing under DC bias. The high stability and performance of these devices demonstrate the potential for the gate metallization of InP     

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with 0.2μm V-gate recesses for X-band application

正AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with 0.2μm V-gate recesses were developed.The 0.2μm recess lengths were shrunk from the 0.6μm designed gate footprint length after isotropic SiN deposition and anisotropic recessed gate dry etching.The AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with 0.2μm V-gate recesses on sapphire substrates exhibited a current gain cutoff frequency f_t of 35 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation f_(max) of 60 GHz.At 10 GHz frequency and 20 V drain bias,the V-gate recess devices exhibited an output power density of 4.44 W/mm with the associated power added efficiency as high as 49%.