Effect of low dose γ-irradiation on DC performance of circular AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Hwang, Ya-Hsi; Hsieh, Yueh‐Ling; Lei, Lei; Li, Shun; Ren, F.; Pearton, S. J.; Yadav, Anupama; Schwarz, Casey M.; Shatkhin, Max; Wang, Luther; Flitsiyan, Elena; Chernyak, Leonid; Baca, Albert G.; Allerman, Andrew A.; Sanchez, Carlos Anthony; Kravchenko, Ivan I.

doi:10.1116/1.4868632

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…15,32 At higher doses, device properties tend to degrade, realized as higher gate leakage currents, reduced diffusion lengths, and increased activation energies. 28,33,34 For doses higher than 300 Gy, the value of L tended to decrease with increasing dose. This occurs due to the increasing density of gamma induced defects.…”

Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Gate pulse measurements showed slight dispersion in the drain current at 10 kHz after all doses which suggested again strain relaxation and the introduction donor type defects. 28 This was coupled with EBIC for determination of L and its associated activation energy as a function of gamma irradiation dose in Ref. 29.…”

Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…17 The increased density of deeper trap levels increases scattering leading to shorter L. The extended defects generated in the buffer layer can be responsible for changes in dc properties including increases in gate leakage current. 28,35 The effectiveness of annealing for gamma induced defect mitigation has been explored in Ref. 33.…”

Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Gamma Irradiation on AlGaN-Based High Electron Mobility Transistors

Lee

Flitsiyan

Chernyak

et al. 2017

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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The influence of various radiations on the performance and carrier transport properties of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs have been observed at length over the previous few decades. Gamma irradiation has been shown to have little influence on carrier density but has significant effects on device performance. The effects of gamma irradiation have proven non-monotonic in nature, dividing results into low and high doses with an inflection point near 300 Gy. Low doses of gamma irradiation have a tendency to improve device characteristics, while high doses lead to device degradation. The differences in low versus high doses are highlighted by electron beam induced current and dc characterizations. III-Nitride devices have long been an attractive solution to the ever-increasing high power and speed demands of industry. Of note, AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have emerged as a contender for these industrial applications investigated due to their high power and speed capabilities.1 Further, AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices do not require additional doping in contrast to AlGaAs/GaAs. Attention to AlGaN/GaN-based devices for potential space and military applications has incited numerous investigations into device radiation hardness.2 Particularly, the effects of high energy radiations on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs have been investigated, as well as p-i-n diodes for solar blind light detectors.Studies of radiation-induced defects in GaN-based devices have attracted significant interest, and much insight exists into the behavior of III-Nitride-based transistors after exposure to energetic ionizing radiation. Investigations of the radiation effects in AlGaN/GaN-based devices employing energetic protons have consistently reported that proton-irradiation results in a decrease in two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet carrier concentration and a positive threshold voltage shift with increasing proton dose.2-5 Negative threshold voltage shifts and increase in 2DEG sheet concentration have been observed in AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures exposed to 1-MeV neutron irradiation with doses up to 2.5 × 10 15 cm −2 . 6 In contrast to the behavior observed in proton-irradiated HEMTs, negative threshold voltage shifts are also observed in gamma-irradiated devices. 7-9Even at low altitudes, the fluences of high energy protons, electron, and photons may be non-negligible and depend on many factors including the local solar weather. 10 The interaction of highly energetic particles with matter tend to lead to the generation of secondary gamma radiation. Therefore, it becomes critical to interpret the effects of gamma radiation since it is found in low earth orbits and presents with other high energy radiation-matter interactions. Such investigation is very important not only from fundamental point of view, due to obtaining substantial information on the physical properties of semiconductor materials, but it also gives values of the device performance for application in radiation harsh environments.In recent years, the term gamma-ray has been conventionally de...

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Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gamma-induced Defects In Algan Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of Gamma Irradiation on AlGaN-Based High Electron Mobility Transistors

Lee

Flitsiyan

Chernyak

et al. 2017

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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“…The carrier removal rate in ELOG n-GaN was lower than MOCVD samples with similar doping level. [167][168][169][170][171] For gamma rays, annealing at 200 °C results in a partial recovery of diffusion length, drain current and transconductance and this is dependent on the dose. Devices that show the most recovery are those exposed to the lowest dose of gamma rays.…”

Section: Total Dose and Single Event Upsetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…65,93 Currently, small satellite applications require a Total Ionizing Dose (TID) resilience of 30 krad (Si) and Single Event Latchup (SEL) hardened up to 80 MeV cm 2 mg −1 linear energy transfer. 155,156 Since SiC and GaN are much more mature technologies than the ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, [157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175] it can be anticipated that the latter will require a detailed understanding of the effects of space radiation before systems based on them can be reliably deployed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Review—Radiation Damage in Wide and Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductors

Pearton

Aitkaliyeva

Xian

et al. 2021

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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The wide bandgap semiconductors SiC and GaN are already commercialized as power devices that are used in the automotive, wireless, and industrial power markets, but their adoption into space and avionic applications is hindered by their susceptibility to permanent degradation and catastrophic failure from heavy-ion exposure. Efforts to space-qualify these wide bandgap power devices have revealed that they are susceptible to damage from the high-energy, heavy-ion space radiation environment (galactic cosmic rays) that cannot be shielded. In space-simulated conditions, GaN and SiC transistors have shown failure susceptibility at ∼50% of their nominal rated voltage. Similarly, SiC transistors are susceptible to radiation damage-induced degradation or failure under heavy-ion single-event effects testing conditions, reducing their utility in the space galactic cosmic ray environment. In SiC-based Schottky diodes, catastrophic single-event burnout (SEB) and other single-event effects (SEE) have been observed at ∼40% of the rated operating voltage, as well as an unacceptable degradation in leakage current at ∼20% of the rated operating voltage. The ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors Ga2O3, diamond and BN are also being explored for their higher power and higher operating temperature capabilities in power electronics and for solar-blind UV detectors. Ga2O3 appears to be more resistant to displacement damage than GaN and SiC, as expected from a consideration of their average bond strengths. Diamond, a highly radiation-resistant material, is considered a nearly ideal material for radiation detection, particularly in high-energy physics applications. The response of diamond to radiation exposure depends strongly on the nature of the growth (natural vs chemical vapor deposition), but overall, diamond is radiation hard up to several MGy of photons and electrons, up to 1015 (neutrons and high energetic protons) cm−2 and >1015 pions cm−2. BN is also radiation-hard to high proton and neutron doses, but h-BN undergoes a transition from sp2 to sp3 hybridization as a consequence of the neutron induced damage with formation of c-BN. Much more basic research is needed on the response of both the wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors to radiation, especially single event effects.

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