Low and moderate dose gamma-irradiation and annealing impact on electronic and electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Yadav, Anupama; Flitsiyan, Elena; Chernyak, Leonid; Hwang, Ya Hsi; Hsieh, Yueh Ling; Lei, Lei; Ren, F.; Pearton, S. J.; Lubomirsky, Igor

doi:10.1080/10420150.2015.1010170

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The generated defects are supposed to be nitrogen vacancies (VN), which act as donors in gallium nitride. Conflicting results have been reported, indicating instead a reduction in current [593], [594]. The difference may originate from different device structure and quality, or from the impact of different dose levels, showing improvements at lower dose and damage at high dose.…”

Section: Gamma Ray Irradiationmentioning

confidence: 97%

GaN-based power devices: Physics, reliability, and perspectives

Meneghini

Santi

Abid

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Physics

345

126

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Over the last decade, gallium nitride has emerged as an excellent material for the fabrication of power devices. Among the semiconductors for which power devices are already available on the market, GaN has the widest energy gap, the largest critical field, the highest saturation velocity, thus representing an excellent material for the fabrication of high speed/high voltage components.The presence of spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization allows to create a 2-dimensional electron gas, with high mobility and large channel density, in absence of any doping, thanks to the use of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. This contributes to minimize resistive losses; at the same time, for GaN transistors switching losses are very low, thanks to the small parasitic capacitances and switching charges. Device scaling and monolithic integration enable high frequency operation, with consequent advantages in terms of miniaturization.For high power/high voltage operation, vertical device architectures are being proposed and investigated, and 3-dimensional structuresfin-shaped, trench-structured, nanowire-basedare demonstrating a great potential. Contrary to silicon, GaN is a relatively young material: trapping and degradation processes must be understood and described in detail, with the aim of optimizing device stability and reliability. This tutorial paper describes the physics, technology and reliability of GaN-based power devices: in the first part of the article, starting from a discussion of the main properties of the material, the characteristics of lateral and vertical GaN transistors are discussed in detail, to provide guidance in this complex and interesting field. The second part of the paper focuses on trapping and reliability aspects: the physical origin of traps in GaN, and the main degradation mechanisms are discussed in detail. The wide set of referenced papers and the insight on the most relevant aspects gives the reader a comprehensive overview on present and next-generation GaN electronics. IntroductionOver the past decade, gallium nitride has emerged as an excellent material for the fabrication of power semiconductor devices. Thanks to the unique properties of GaN, diodes and transistors based on this material have excellent performance, compared to their silicon counterparts, and are expected to find wide application in the next-generation power converters. Owing to the flexibility and the energy efficiency of GaN-based power converters, the interest towards this technology is rapidly growing: the aim of this tutorial is to review the most relevant physical properties, the operating principles, the fabrication parameters, and the stability/reliability issues of GaN-based power transistors. For introductory purposes, we start summarizing the physical reasons why GaN transistors achieve a much better performance than the corresponding silicon devices, to help the reader understanding the unique advantages of this technology.The properties of GaN devices allow the fabrication of high-efficiency (near or above 99 %)...

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Section: Gamma Ray Irradiationmentioning

confidence: 97%

GaN-based power devices: Physics, reliability, and perspectives

Meneghini

Santi

Abid

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Physics

345

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…21,29,30,34 The activation energies observed from EBIC studies were regarded as due to V N for low doses. The enhancement of device function at low doses extended to dc properties as well, including transconductance, I DS magnitudes, and gate leakage currents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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. The thermal activation energy found initially near 80 meV reduced for doses of 50 and 300 Gy while L was increased, while the opposite trend is observed for doses greater than 300 Gy.…”

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confidence: 99%

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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“…Studies have reported both improvements and degradation in material properties following c-ray irradiation. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Membreno et al 17 reported the effect of cirradiation on n-GaN material through transient capacitance measurements. The generation of two defect levels with thermal activation energies of 89 meV and 132 meV, respectively, was reported after the material was subjected to a c-irradiation dose of 210 kGy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) exhibit a decrease in gate leakage current with an increase in transconductance after being subjected to a low c-ray dose of 300-500 Gy. 12,14,20 Aktas et al 8 reported an increase in the transconductance of GaN HEMTs with a À 0.1 V shift in their threshold voltage even at the very high c-ray dose of 6 MGy. By contrast, Jha et al 11 reported a decrease in the transconductance of GaN HEMT devices after they were subjected to c-irradiation doses of up to 100 kGy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of γ-Ray Irradiation on AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures and High Electron Mobility Transistor Devices

Sharma

Singh

Chao

et al. 2020

Journal of Elec Materi

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This study examined the effects of three cumulative c-ray irradiation doses on AlGaN/GaN epilayer material and on high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices. After a cumulative c-ray dose of 16 kGy, the Hall mobility increased from 1800 cm 2 /V s to 2100 cm 2 /V s, as determined through Hall measurement. Atomic force microscopy indicated an improvement in surface roughness but no change in the surface potential ; s ð Þ. The HEMT device exhibited improvement in the drain current, with a subtle decreasing tendency in the leakage current. At high doses of c-ray irradiation, the trends in the material and device parameters saturated. Moreover, the metal-semiconductor interface degraded, as confirmed through scanning electron microscopy image analysis.

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Low and moderate dose gamma-irradiation and annealing impact on electronic and electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

GaN-based power devices: Physics, reliability, and perspectives

GaN-based power devices: Physics, reliability, and perspectives

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

Effects of γ-Ray Irradiation on AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures and High Electron Mobility Transistor Devices

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