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The Effects of Device Dimension, Substrate Temperature, and Gate Metallization on the Reliability of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2012

F. Ren ,
S. J. Pearton ,
Lu Liu ,
T.-S. Kang ,
E. A. Douglas ,
C. Y. Chang ,
C.-F. Lo ,
D. A. Cullen ,
L. Zhou  and
D. J. Smith
F. Ren
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
S. J. Pearton
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
Lu Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
T.-S. Kang
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
E. A. Douglas
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
C. Y. Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
C.-F. Lo
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611
D. A. Cullen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
L. Zhou
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
D. J. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
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Abstract

The effects of source field plates on AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor reliability under off-state stress conditions were investigated using step-stress cycling. The source field plate enhanced the drain breakdown voltage from 55V to 155V and the critical voltage for off-state gate stress from 40V to 65V, relative to devices without the field plate. Transmission electron microscopy was used to examine the degradation of the gate contacts. The presence of cracking that appeared on both source and drain side of the gate edges was attributed to the inverse piezoelectric effect. In addition, a thin oxide layer was observed between the Ni gate contact and the AlGaN layer, and both Ni and oxygen had diffused into the AlGaN layer. The critical degradation voltage of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors during off-state electrical stress was determined as a function of Ni/Au gate dimensions (0.1-0.17μm). Devices with different gate length and gate-drain distances were found to exhibit the onset of degradation at different source-drain biases but similar electric field strengths, showing that the degradation mechanism is primarily field-driven. The temperature dependence of sub-threshold drain current versus gate voltage at a constant drain bias voltage were used to determine the trap densities in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) before and after the off-state stress. Two different trap densities were obtained for the measurements conducted at 300-493K and 493-573K, respectively.

Keywords

piezoelectricstress/strain relationshipelectrical properties
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1396: Symposium O – Compound Semiconductors for Generating, Emitting and Manipulating Energy , 2012 , mrsf11-1396-o04-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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