Heavy ion irradiation effects on GaN/AlGaN high electron mobility transistor failure at off-state

Islam, Zahabul; Paoletta, Angela L.; Monterrosa, Anthony M.; Schuler, Jennifer D.; Rupert, Timothy J.; Hattar, Khalid Mikhiel; Glavin, Nicholas R.; Haque, Aman

doi:10.1016/j.microrel.2019.113493

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been widely used in many fields because of their high electron mobility, high voltage and wide bandgap, and they have shown the better tolerance to the harsh radiation environment of space [1]. Also, GaN HEMTs are attractive for space applications because of their size, weight and power effectiveness [2]. These excellent properties make AlGaN/GaN HEMTs desirable for critical components of satellite systems operated at high power and high frequency in space environment [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Luo et al [23] supposed that the HEMT sensitive position of the traditional gate-field plate structure is near the drain side of the gate-field plate, because the high electric field near the gate-field plate can effectively accelerate the carriers to ionize more carriers and trigger SEB. Islam et al [2] investigated the effects of ion irradiation on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, they found that heavy ions can create a significant number of defects such as vacancies, interstitials and dislocations in the device layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An SEB Hardened AlGaN/GaN HEMT With Barrier Interlayer

Zhang

Wang

Wu³

et al. 2020

IEEE Access

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A new single event burnout (SEB) hardened AlGaN/GaN structure with a thin barrier interlayer (IL) is presented in this work. The proposed hardened structure is compared with the simulation results of the conventional structure. The comparative analysis demonstrates that the IL lifts the conduction band energy in buffer layer and a new quantum well is formed. The quantum well limits the electrons induced by heavy ion below the second channel into the first channel. Thus, better SEB performance is achieved compared with the conventional structure. Moreover, the breakdown characteristic of the new structure is significantly improved, while the output characteristic is slightly reduced. Under the condition that the two structures are irradiated vertically by heavy ion having the linear energy transfer (LET) value of 0.6 pC/µm, the SEB threshold voltage of the conventional structure is 280 V, while the hardened structure can achieve 375 V. INDEX TERMS GaN, high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT), single event burnout (SEB), barrier interlayer, SEB threshold voltage.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An SEB Hardened AlGaN/GaN HEMT With Barrier Interlayer

Zhang

Wang

Wu³

et al. 2020

IEEE Access

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“…However, it is unclear whether the increased dislocation density is due to proton irradiation. While it has been shown that radiation damage caused by heavy ions can proliferate dislocations from preexisting defects, 19 reports connecting proton irradiation to increased dislocation density are unavailable.…”

Section: Irradiation-induced Degradation Of Thermal Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 12% drop was observed in the measured thermal conductivity of the GaN layer, i.e., 136 ± 5.4 W/(m K) (reference) reduced to 120 ± 4.8 W/(m K) in the irradiated sample. This reduction in thermal conductivity can be correlated to the increased dislocation density and defect centers produced in the GaN layer as a result of the proton irradiation. ,, As the GaN layer is closest to the 2-DEG (where a majority of the heat is generated), , this reduction will have a major impact on the device peak temperature. This will be evaluated in greater detail later in this report.…”

Section: Irradiation-induced Degradation Of Thermal Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This leads to accentuated concentration of heat generation near the drain side of the gate edge, resulting in increased device peak temperature. On the other hand, the radiation-induced formation of material defects in the GaN and/or Si lattices will lead to increased scattering of phonons, leading to a reduction in thermal conductivity and, ultimately, an elevated device temperature. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cumulative Impacts of Proton Irradiation on the Self-heating of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

Chatterjee

Shoemaker

Song

et al. 2020

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

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The impact of proton irradiation on the self-heating of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) was studied at an energy of 1 MeV and under a fluence level of 2 × 1015 cm–2. Severe degradation in electrical characteristics was observed under these conditions (5× reduction in drain saturation current at V GS = 0 V, positive shift in threshold voltage by 3.1 V). Concomitantly, an 80% increase in the device gate temperature was observed using a thermoreflectance thermal imaging technique, at a power dissipation level of 5 W/mm. One of the key contributing factors behind this exacerbated self-heating for the irradiated devices was found to be the increased electric field concentration at the drain side of the gate edge because of a higher drain–source voltage level required to operate the device at the same power density condition before irradiation. Additionally, reduction in thermal conductivity of the gallium nitride (GaN) layer and the silicon (Si) substrate led to increased thermal resistance and, hence, an increased device operating temperature. According to the stopping and range of ions in matter (SRIM) simulation, the penetration depth for the protons was ∼8.8 μm under the tested conditions. As the GaN/Si interface structure (including the AlGaN strain-relief layer) for the tested HEMTs was about 5 μm away from the surface, significant damage occurred near this heterointerface. This damage resulted in an ∼3× increase in the effective interfacial thermal boundary resistance that contributed to an additional 16% increase in device self-heating. Overall, the degradation of electrical parameters (24%), the GaN thermal conductivity (33%), the GaN/Si effective thermal boundary conductance (16%), and the Si substrate thermal conductivity (20%) contributed to the exacerbated self-heating in the irradiated AlGaN/GaN HEMT (∼90 °C) as compared to that of the reference (i.e., nonradiated) HEMT (∼50 °C), under a power density condition of 5 W/mm.

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