GaN is increasingly be ing used in a wide variety of power electronic applications. The piezoelectric nature of GaN, however, can result in defect generation and can modify the electrical performance of power devices, especially AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). The cooling mechanisms used to cool the GaN can create thermal gradients that can exaggerate this piezoelectric effect. In this study, multiphys ics finite element mode ling was used to determine the thermal gradients, the resulting thermo-mechanical stresses, and the attendant changes in the electric fields resulting from piezoelectric interaction seen in the HEMT. Devices were then tested on a probe station to va lidate the results of the mode ling. Evident dra in and gate current and on-resistance degradation were observed after a 30 minute voltage and current stress was applied to the HEMT.
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