Influence of annealed ohmic contact metals on electron mobility of strained AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

The influence of annealed ohmic contact metals on the electron mobility of a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is investigated on ungated AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors (AlGaN/GaN HFETs). Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for ungated AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics for AlGaN/GaN HFETs are obtained, and the electron mobility for the ungated AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is calculated. It is found that the electron mobility of the 2DEG for the ungated AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is decreased by more than 50% compared with the electron mobility of Hall measurements. We propose that defects are introduced into the AlGaN barrier layer and the strain of the AlGaN barrier layer is changed during the annealing process of the source and drain, causing the decrease in the electron mobility.     

Hydrogen sensors based on AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMT

Pt/AlGaN/AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) were fabricated and characterized for hydrogen sensing. Pt and Ti/Al/Ni/Au metals were evaporated to form the Schottky contact and the ohmic contact, respectively. The sensors can be operated in either the field effect transistor (FET) mode or the Schottky diode mode. Current changes and time dependence of the sensors under the FET and diode modes were compared. When the sensor was operated in the FET mode, the sensor can have larger current change of 8 mA, but its sensitivity is only about 0.2. In the diode mode, the current change was very small under the reverse bias but it increased greatly and gradually saturated at 0.8 mA under the forward bias. The sensor had much higher sensitivity when operated in the diode mode than in the FET mode. The oxygen in the air could accelerate the desorption of the hydrogen and the recovery of the sensor.     

Anisotropy in the quantum lifetime in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Magnetoresistance measurements were performed on van der Pauw shaped AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on either sapphire or silicon carbide. These measurements revealed the presence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. However, the amplitude of the oscillations originating from perpendicular van der Pauw positions were not isotropic. This anisotropy varied from sample to sample and within a sample its magnitude changed with the carrier density which was modulated by illumination as it induced a persistent photocurrent. The results of this study suggest the anisotropy is either a manifestation of electron density inhomogeneities and/or an indication of a nonuniform scattering mechanism arising from nonuniform interface roughness.     

AlGaN/GaN self-aligned MODFET with metal oxide gate for millimeter wave application

As promising candidates for future microwave power devices, GaN-based high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have attracted much research interest. An investigation of the operation of AlGaN/GaN n type self-aligned MOSFET with modulation doped GaN channels is presented. Liquid phase deposited (LPD) SiO₂ is used as the insulating material. An analytical model based on modified charge control equations is developed. The investigated critical parameters of the proposed device are the maximum drain current (I_Dmax), the threshold voltage (V_th), the peak DC trans-conductance (g_m), break down voltage (V_br) and unity current gain cut-off frequency (f_T). The typical DC characteristics for a gate length of 1 μm with 100 μm gate width are following: I_max=800 mA/mm, V_break-down=50 V, g_{m_extrinsic}=200 mS/mm, V_pinchoff=−10 V. The analysis and simulation results on the transport characteristics of the MOS gate MODFET structure is compared with the previously measured experimental data. The calculated values of f_T (20-130 GHz) suggest that the operation of the proposed device effectively, has sufficiently high current gain cutoff frequencies over a wide range of drain voltage, which is essential for high-power performance at microwave frequencies. The proposed device offers lower on-state resistance. The results so obtained are in close agreement with the experimental data.     

Crack-free Al0.5Ga0.5N epilayer grown on SiC substrate by in situ SiNx interlayer

The crystal quality and stress state of Al_0.5Ga_0.5N epitaxial layers on 6H-SiC wafers by introducing an in-situ deposited SiN_x nanomask layer grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) were investigated. A SiN_x interlayer with various growth times was inserted to the Al_0.5Ga_0.5N epilayers. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of X-ray diffraction peaks and the density of etch pits decreased dramatically by the SiN_x interlayer, indicating an improved crystalline quality. Also, it was found that the crack density and biaxial tensile stress in the Al_0.5Ga_0.5N film was significantly reduced by in situ SiN_x interlayer from optical microscopy, photoluminescence spectra and Raman spectra. Finally, a crack-free 1.8 μm thick Al_0.5Ga_0.5N epilayer grown on 6H-SiC substrate using the optimized SiN_x interlayer growth time was obtained.     

Improved temperature model of AlGaN/GaN HEMT and device characteristics at variant temperature

In this paper, an improved temperature model for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is presented. Research is being conducted for a high-performance building block for high frequency applications that combine lower costs with improved performance and manufacturability. The effects of channel conductance in the saturation region and the parasitic resistance due to the undoped GaN buffer layer have been included. The effect of both spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization induced charges at the AlGaN/GaN heterointerface has been incorporated. The proposed model is used to determine the transfer characteristics, output current-voltage characteristics and small-signal microwave parameters of HEMTs. The investigated temperature range is from 100–600 K. The small signal microwave parameters have been evaluated to determine the unity current gain cut-off frequency (f _T ). High f _T (10–70 GHz) values and high current levels (～550 mA/mm) are achieved for a 1 μm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. A custom DC measurement system is used to facilitate the DC characterization of the unpackaged GaN HEMT test device. The calculated critical parameters and the simulation results suggest that the performance of the proposed device degrades at elevated temperatures.     

氟基等离子体处理对高Al组分AlGaN肖特基接触反向漏电的改善

在沉积肖特基金属之前,对非掺的Al0.45Ga0.55N采用了不同时间的氟基等离子体处理,其中Al组分对应日盲波段。与未做氟基等离子体处理的样品相比,经过处理的Al0.45Ga0.55N肖特基二极管在反向-10V的漏电流密度随处理时间的增加而减少,其中处理1min的样品的漏电流密度减少了5个数量级。X射线光电子谱分析证明了处理过的样品表面Ga-F和Al-F键的形成。反向漏电的减少可能是由氟基等离子体处理耗尽了电子和有效钝化了表面态导致的。     

利用光致发光法测定AlxGa1-xN外延膜中的铝元素含量

采用深紫外光致发光技术测量AlxGa1-xN半导体异质外延膜的禁带宽度,结合Material Studio软件中的CASTEP模块模拟计算AlxGa1-xN异质外延膜材料的弯曲因子,测定了AlxGa1-xN外延膜样品中的Al元素物质的量分数。结果表明,发射波长为224.3nm的HeAg激光器能够激发AlxGa1-xN半导体材料产生发光现象。CASTEP软件模拟计算得到AlxGa1-xN的弯曲因子为1.01462±0.06772eV,认为其弯曲因子在1.0eV附近,由此可以理论计算得到具有Al组分梯度的一系列AlxGa1-xN外延膜样品中的Al元素物质的量分数。     

毫米波AlGaN / GaN HEMT 交流特性研究

毫米波频段已经成为AlGaN/GaN HEMT研究的一个发展趋势。利用器件仿真软件TCAD,对AlGaN/GaN HEMT交流特性进行了研究。从势垒层的Al组分和厚度两个参数分析了器件特征频率变化趋势。用TCAD仿真得到的AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件本征S参数,在ADS中添加器件的非本征参数,得到器件仿真的频率特性。在器件设计的基础上,进行了器件版图设计和流片,并测量了器件频率特性。测试和仿真结果的对比表明两者较为一致,表明器件仿真的有效性和指导意义。     

A magnetotransport study of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on silicon

Resistivity and Hall effect measurements as functions of temperature and magnetic field have been made on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on silicon substrates. Electronic properties are comparable to those of similar structures grown on sapphire or silicon carbide. Persistent photocurrent (PPC) effects induced by illumination with blue and ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been investigated. These effects persisted to room temperature. Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations were observed in several samples but only after illumination in some samples. Analysis of the mobility dependence on the carrier density suggests small angle scattering is responsible for the suppression of the oscillations prior to illumination in those samples.