A C-Band AlGaN/GaN HEMT with Cat-CVD SiN Passivation Developed for an Over 100 W Operation

Abstract

We applied a Cat-CVD (catalytic chemical vapor deposition) passivation film to AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, to resolve the trade-off between their drain current transient time and gatedrain break down voltage. We did not employ any field plate because it degrades high frequency operation over C-band. The SiN passivation film, deposited after a NH 3 treatment, resulted in less transient time and less gate leakage current than conventional PE-CVD passivation. A T-shaped gate HEMT fabricated by this technique, with Lg = 0.4 µm and Wg = 50.4 mm, delivered an output power over 140 W (2.79 W/mm), which was a record power at C-band.

Roles of lightly doped carbon in the drift layers of vertical n-GaN Schottky diode structures on freestanding GaN substrates

“…[1][2][3][4][5] For example, RF amplifiers equipped with GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) have the advantages of high breakdown and high electron velocity, which provide excellent performances such as high efficiency, low power consumption, and high output power handling capability. Cellular infrastructures, common antenna television (CATV) transmitters, L=S=C=Xband radars in in-vessel and avionic systems are typical examples of GaN applications.…”

A high efficiency C-band internally-matched harmonic tuning GaN power amplifier

“…9 [4,[6][7][8][9][14][15][16][17]. To the best of our knowledge, the PAE of 72.1% with 107.4 W output power is the highest ever reported of C-band GaN HEMT amplifiers operating with over 100 W output power.…”

A 0.25 μm Gate AlGaN/GaN HEMT for X-band Using RELACS Process

“…To resolve the drain current-collapse, we applied a Cat-CVD (catalytic chemical vapor deposition) technology to AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. As a result, we have reported high power and high efficiency amplifiers at C-band [1,2].…”