This letter reports on the performance improvement of phase-change memory (PCM) cells by applying silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloys as resistive heating layers. The in situ doped polycrystalline Si0.75Ge0.25 films, lying under holes filled with a Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) phase-change material in a pore-style configuration, promoted the temperature rise and phase transition in the GST. The SiGe heating layer caused drastic reduction in both set and reset currents compared to a conventional TiN heater material. The threshold voltages of the PCM cells were almost uniform irrespective of the kind of heating layers. It is considered that this beneficial effect of the SiGe heating layer originates from the high electrical resistivity and low thermal conductivity of a SiGe alloy.

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In this study, a high-performance AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is presented to improve its electrical operation by employing an inner field-plate (IFP) structure. Prior to the IFP structure analysis, we compared the measured and simulated direct current characteristics of the fabricated two-finger conventional T-shaped gate HEMTs. Then, the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with a drain-side field plate (FP) structure was suggested to enhance the breakdown voltage characteristics. The maximum breakdown voltage recorded with a 0.8 µm stretched FP structure was 669 V. Finally, the IFP structure was interfaced with the gate head of the device to compensate the radio frequency characteristics, choosing the optimum length of the drain-side FP structure. Compared to the 0.8 µm stretched FP structure, the IFP structure showed improved frequency characteristics with minimal difference to the breakdown voltage. The frequency variation caused by changing the passivation thickness was also analyzed, and the optimum thickness was identified. Thus, IFP AlGaN/GaN HEMT is a promising candidate for high-power and high-frequency applications.

In this study, we investigated the operational characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by applying the copper-filled trench and via structures for improved heat dissipation. Therefore, we used a basic T-gate HEMT device to construct the thermal structures. To identify the heat flow across the device structure, a thermal conductivity model and the heat transfer properties corresponding to the GaN, SiC, and Cu materials were applied. Initially, we simulated the direct current (DC) characteristics of a basic GaN on SiC HEMT to confirm the self-heating effect on AlGaN/GaN HEMT. Then, to verify the heat sink effect of the copper-filled thermal structures, we compared the DC characteristics such as the threshold voltage, transconductance, saturation current, and breakdown voltage. Finally, we estimated and compared the lattice temperature of a two-dimensional electron gas channel, the vertical lattice temperature near the drain-side gate head edge, and the transient thermal analysis for the copper-filled thermal trench and via structures. Through this study, we could optimize the operational characteristics of the device by applying an effective heat dissipation structure to the AlGaN/GaN HEMT.

The switching speed and the reliability of the phase-change memory (PCM) device employing a SiGe film as a heating layer were compared with those of the control device employing a conventional TiN heating layer. The influence of the semiconducting nature of the SiGe film on PCM operation was investigated. The critical pulse width for the onset of a set process was reduced to less than about 50% by substitution of SiGe for TiN. The cycling endurance value for the PCM device with a SiGe heating layer was comparable to that of the control device, which indicated that the introduction of a SiGe film did not induce reliability degradation. The heterojunction between the GeSbTe and SiGe layers was so leaky that the effect of the semiconduction type of SiGe was negligible. The reset current was saturated at a minimum value with increasing resistivity of a SiGe film, which was attributed to the resistance lowering of SiGe at high temperature. The PCM device with a SiGe heating layer was successively fabricated using Si complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology, and its reset current decreased drastically compared to that of the control device.