Reliability Investigation of GaN HEMTs for MMICs Applications

Chini, Alessandro; Meneghesso, Gaudenzio; Pantellini, A.; Lanzieri, C.; Zanoni, Enrico

doi:10.3390/mi5030570

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…[531] The degradation mechanism is field-driven, as suggested by tests on devices with and without field-plates. [532] A RF stress usually induces small variations in the DC performance of state-of-the art devices, mainly a lowering of the saturation current and a decrease in gate leakage, [533] but the generation of defects causes an increase in the dynamic current collapse. [534] A negative [535] or positive [536] shift in threshold voltage is also observed sometimes, due to the presence of traps in the cap and barrier layer.…”

Section: Rf Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Meneghini

Santi

Abid

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Physics

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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: Rf Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Meneghini

Santi

Abid

et al. 2021

Journal of Applied Physics

Self Cite

345

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, thanks to the benefits of wide band gap technology, some of these challenges will soon be overcome if more research goes into solving the respective problems. Recently, the field of power electronic devices has awakened to the wide band gap technology and this has resulted in the birthing of the high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) [ 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 ]. These transistors, mostly MOSFETs and IGBTs, are made from materials such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), indium phosphide (InP), aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), etc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overview of Power Electronic Switches: A Summary of the Past, State-of-the-Art and Illumination of the Future

Jiya

Gouws

2020

Micromachines

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As the need for green and effective utilization of energy continues to grow, the advancements in the energy and power electronics industry are constantly driven by this need, as both industries are intertwined for obvious reasons. The developments in the power electronics industry has over the years hinged on the progress of the semiconductor device industry. The semiconductor device industry could be said to be on the edge of a turn into a new era, a paradigm shift from the conventional silicon devices to the wide band gap semiconductor technologies. While a lot of work is being done in research and manufacturing sectors, it is important to look back at the past, evaluate the current progress and look at the prospects of the future of this industry. This paper is unique at this time because it seeks to give a good summary of the past, the state-of-the-art, and highlight the opportunities for future improvements. A more or less ‘forgotten’ power electronic switch, the four-quadrant switch, is highlighted as an opportunity waiting to be exploited as this switch presents a potential for achieving an ideal switch. Figures of merit for comparing semiconductor materials and devices are also presented in this review.

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Reliability Investigation of GaN HEMTs for MMICs Applications

Cited by 2 publications

References 11 publications

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

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

Overview of Power Electronic Switches: A Summary of the Past, State-of-the-Art and Illumination of the Future

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