High-temperature performance of AlGaN/GaN HFETs on SiC substrates

The performance results AlGaN-GaN Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors (HFETs) grown on SiC substrates are reported. The maximum transconductance of these devices was 142 mS/mm and the source-drain current was as high as 0.95 A/mm. The maximum dissipated DC power at room temperature was 0.6 MW/cm², which is more than three times higher than that in similar devices grown on sapphire. This high thermal breakdown threshold was achieved primarily due to the effective heat sink through the SiC substrate. These devices demonstrated stable performance at elevated temperatures up to 250°C. The source-drain current saturation was observed up to 300°C. The leakage current in the below threshold regime was temperature-activated with an activation energy of 0.38 eV