A model for the critical voltage for electrical degradation of GaN high electron mobility transistors

It has recently been postulated that GaN high electron mobility transistors under high voltage stress degrade as a result of defect formation induced by excessive mechanical stress that is introduced through the inverse piezoelectric effect. This mechanism is characterized by a critical voltage beyond which irreversible degradation takes place. In order to improve the electrical reliability of GaN HEMTs, it is important to understand and model this degradation process. In this paper, we formulate a first-order model for mechanical stress and elastic energy induced by the inverse piezoelectric effect in GaN HEMTs which allows the computation of the critical voltage for degradation in these devices.