Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 18;15(3):703.
doi: 10.3390/ma15030703.

A Novel GaN:C Millimeter-Wave HEMT with AlGaN Electron-Blocking Layer

You-Chen Weng  1 , Yueh-Chin Lin  2 , Heng-Tung Hsu  3 , Min-Lu Kao  2 , Hsuan-Yao Huang  3 , Daisuke Ueda  3 , Minh-Thien-Huu Ha  2 , Chih-Yi Yang  3 , Jer-Shen Maa  1 , Edward-Yi Chang  2   3   4 , Chang-Fu Dee  5
Affiliations

A Novel GaN:C Millimeter-Wave HEMT with AlGaN Electron-Blocking Layer

You-Chen Weng et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

An AlGaN/GaN/Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) using a GaN:C buffer with a 2 nm AlGaN electron-blocking layer (EBL) is investigated for the first time for millimeter-wave applications. Compared with the double heterostructure field effect transistor (DHFET), the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with the GaN:C/EBL buffer has a lower vertical leakage, higher thermal stability, and better RF performance. In addition, AlGaN EBL can prevent carbon-related traps from GaN:C and improve electron confinement in 2DEG during high-frequency operation. Finally, a Pout of 31.2 dBm with PAE of 21.7% were measured at 28 GHz at 28 V. These results demonstrated the great potential of HEMTs using GaN:C with AlGaN EBL epitaxy technology for millimeter-wave applications.

Keywords: GaN; HEMT; electron-blocking layer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) The device structure of the GaN:C buffer AlGaN/GaN HEMT with AlGaN EBL; (b) the device structure of the AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN DHFET; (c) cross-section of the TEM image of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with GaN:C buffer with AlGaN EB; (d) the TEM image of the GaN channel/AlGaN EBL/GaN:C, (e) The TEM image of the AlGaN EBL; (f) surface morphology of the GaN:C buffer AlGaN/GaN HEMT with AlGaN EBL.
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) The device structure of the GaN:C buffer AlGaN/GaN HEMT with AlGaN EBL; (b) the device structure of the AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN DHFET; (c) cross-section of the TEM image of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with GaN:C buffer with AlGaN EB; (d) the TEM image of the GaN channel/AlGaN EBL/GaN:C, (e) The TEM image of the AlGaN EBL; (f) surface morphology of the GaN:C buffer AlGaN/GaN HEMT with AlGaN EBL.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SIMS depth profiles of C, Ga, Al for the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with GaN:C and AlGaN EBL buffer, the insert shows AlGaN EBL between GaN:C and UID GaN channel.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vertical buffer leakage currents under forward and reverse bias (@Temperature: 25 °C and 150 °C) for (a) the GaN:C/EBL buffer device, and (b) the DHFET.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) IDS-VDS, and (b) IDS/Gm-VGS characteristics of the 2 × 50 μm GaN:C/EBL buffer device. (c) IDS-VDS, and (d) IDS/Gm-VGS characteristics of the 2 × 50 μm DHFETs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pulsed I-V characteristics of the device with different buffers: the data show the drain lag under different drain biases (pulse width 200 ns, duty 1%); (a) the 2 × 50 μm GaN:C/EBL buffer device; (b) the 2 × 50 μm DHFETs; (c) MSG/MAG gain of the GaN:C/EBL buffer device and the DHFET (device size 8 × 50 μm).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pulsed I-V characteristics of the device with different buffers: the data show the drain lag under different drain biases (pulse width 200 ns, duty 1%); (a) the 2 × 50 μm GaN:C/EBL buffer device; (b) the 2 × 50 μm DHFETs; (c) MSG/MAG gain of the GaN:C/EBL buffer device and the DHFET (device size 8 × 50 μm).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Power performance at 28 GHz for the 8 × 50 μm GaN:C/EBL buffer device with VDS = 28 V.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Piotrowicz S., Jardell O., Chartier E., Aubry R., Baczkowski L., Casbon M., Dua C., Escotti L., Gamarra P., Jacquet J.C., et al. 12 W/mm with 0.15 µm InAlN/GaN HEMTs on SiC technology for K and Ka-Bands applications; Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS2014); Tampa, FL, USA. 1–6 June 2014; pp. 1–3.
    1. Kolluri S., Keller S., DenBaars S.P., Mishra U.K. Microwave Power Performance N-Polar GaN MISHEMTs Grown by MOCVD on SiC Substrates Using an Al2O3 Etch-Stop Technology. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 2012;33:44–46. doi: 10.1109/LED.2011.2173458. - DOI
    1. Higashiwaki M., Pei Y., Chu R., Mishra U.K. Effects of Barrier Thinning on Small-Signal and 30-GHz Power Characteristics of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices. 2011;58:1681–1686. doi: 10.1109/TED.2011.2131653. - DOI
    1. Lin Y.C., Chen S.H., Lee P.H., Lai K.H., Huang T.J., Chang E.Y., Hsu H.-T. Gallium Nitride (GaN) High-Electron-Mobility Transistors with Thick Copper Metallization Featuring a Power Density of 8.2 W/mm for Ka-Band Applications. Micromachines. 2020;11:222. doi: 10.3390/mi11020222. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Medjdoub F., Zegaoui M., Grimbert B., Ducatteau D., Rolland N., Rolland P.A. First Demonstration of High-Power GaN-on-Silicon Transistors at 40 GHz. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 2012;33:1168–1170. doi: 10.1109/LED.2012.2198192. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources