Stability and Reliability of Lateral GaN Power Field-Effect Transistors

Abstract

GaN electronics constitutes a revolutionary technology with power handling capabilities that amply exceed those of Si and other semiconductors in many applications. RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave GaN-based power amplifiers are now deployed in commercial communications, radar, and sensing systems. GaN power transistors for electrical power management are also starting to reach the marketplace. From the dawn of this technology, inadequate transistor stability and reliability have represented stumbling blocks preventing widespread commercial use of GaN electronics. Intense research has been devoted to addressing these issues, and great progress has taken place recently. This article reviews some of the most interesting and significant stability and reliability issues that have plagued GaN power field-effect transistors for RF and power management applications.

“Hole Redistribution” Model Explaining the Thermally Activated R ON Stress/Recovery Transients in Carbon-Doped AlGaN/GaN Power MIS-HEMTs

“…OWER devices based on the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure are becoming a popular technology solution as a replacement for Silicon devices [1]. The High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) based on this semiconductor system exhibit enhanced switching speed and breakdown field capability, enabling operation at higher operating voltage/frequency/temperature [1], [2]. However, the introduction of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs into the mass market not only depends on the demonstration of outstanding performance but also on the stable and reliable operation of these devices.…”

On the Modeling of the Donor/Acceptor Compensation Ratio in Carbon-Doped GaN to Univocally Reproduce Breakdown Voltage and Current Collapse in Lateral GaN Power HEMTs

“…Carbon (C) doping is a common technological solution to reduce buffer conductivity and increase breakdown voltage ( V BD ) in lateral gallium nitride (GaN)-based power transistors [ 1 , 2 ]. However, this comes at the cost of increased dynamic on-resistance and current-collapse effects [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]. Depending on the growth conditions, C atoms can either substitute N or Ga sites, occupy interstitial locations in the crystal, or form complexes with intrinsic defects [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Mechanisms Underlying the Bidirectional V T Shift After Negative-Bias Temperature Instability Stress in Carbon-Doped Fully Recessed AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs

“…Conventional GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) are normally-on devices, while normallyoff operation is desirable for commercial devices. To this end, research and industry efforts have been focused towards the development of fully recessed metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS)-HEMTs [2]. However, the presence of a gate oxide and the associated defect-prone oxide/semiconductor interface leads to threshold voltage (VT) instability, severely impacting device stability and operation [2].…”

“…To this end, research and industry efforts have been focused towards the development of fully recessed metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS)-HEMTs [2]. However, the presence of a gate oxide and the associated defect-prone oxide/semiconductor interface leads to threshold voltage (VT) instability, severely impacting device stability and operation [2]. Assessing the VT stability after negative bias temperature stress (NBTI) is important even in normally-off HEMTs, since VGS ≪ VT is required to avoid false turn-on when devices are pulsed at large drain voltages [3].…”