Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2013
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Applied Physics Letters
Volume
103
Issue
16
DOI of Original Publication
10.1063/1.4826324
Date of Submission
March 2015
Abstract
AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFETs) with 2 μm gate length were subjected to on-state-high-field (high drain bias and drain current) and reverse-gate-bias (no drain currentand reverse gate bias) stress at room and elevated temperatures for up to 10 h. The resulting degradation of the HFETs was studied by direct current and uniquely phase noise before and after stress. A series of drain and gate voltages was applied during the on-state-high-field and reverse-gate-bias stress conditions, respectively, to examine the effect of electric field on degradation of the HFET devices passivated with SiNx. The degradation behaviors under these two types of stress conditions were analyzed and compared. In order to isolate the effect of self-heating/temperature on device degradation, stress experiments were conducted at base plate temperatures up to 150 °C. It was found that the electric field induced by reverse-gate-bias mainly generated trap(s), most likely in the AlGaN barrier, which initially were manifested as generation-recombination (G-R) peak(s) in the phase noise spectra near 103 Hz. Meanwhileelectric field induced by on-state-high-field stress mainly generated hot-electron and hot-phonon effects, which result in a nearly frequency independent increase of noise spectra. The external base plate temperatures promote trap generation as evidenced by increased G-R peak intensities.
Rights
Zhu, C. Y., Zhang, F., Ferreyra, R.A., et al., Degradation in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors upon electrical stress: Effects of field and temperature. Applied Physics Letters, 103, 163504. Copyright © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Is Part Of
VCU Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4826324