UCSB

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and HBTs

Umesh K. Mishra

U.S. Department of Defense

UCSB

PART I AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

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UCSB Materials Properties Comparison

Material Eg BFOM Ratio 1.0 9.6 3.1 24.6 JFM Ratio 1.0 3.5 60 80 Tmax Si GaAs SiC GaN 1300 5000 260 1500 11.4 13.1 9.7 9.5 1.1 1.4 2.9 3.4 300 C 300 C 600 C 700 C

BFOM = Baligas figure of merit for power transistor performance [K**Ec3] JFM = Johnsons figure of merit for power transistor performance (Breakdown, electron velocity product) [Eb*Vbr/2]

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UCSB Advantages of WBG Devices

Need
High Power/Unit Width High Voltage Operation High Linearity High Frequency High Efficiency Low Noise High Temperature Operation Thermal Management Technology Leverage

Enabling Feature Performance Advantage

Wide Bandgap, High Field High Breakdown Field HEMT Topology High Electron Velocity High Operating Voltage High gain, high velocity Wide Bandgap SiC Substrate Compact, Ease of Matching Eliminate/Reduce Step Down Optimum Band Allocation Bandwidth, -Wave/mm-Wave Power Saving, Reduced Cooling High dynamic range receivers Rugged, Reliable, Reduced Cooling High power devices with reduced cooling needs Driving Force for Technology: Low Cost

Direct Bandgap: Enabler for Lighting

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UCSB Device Level Issues (HEMTs) DC

If it aint good @ DC it aint goin to be good @ RF
Imax G Lg D S

-------------

-------------------GaN V Vmax
Maximize I Maximize nS Maximize Maximize nS, Maximize PSP, PPE Maximize Al mole fraction without strain relaxation Minimize effective gate length Minimize Lg and gate length extension Minimize dislocations Smooth interface

AlGaN PSP + PPE + + + + + + +

Pmax = 1Vmax I max 8 I = V nS

Mazimize

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UCSB With Mazimizing Al Mole Fraction in Al Ga Issues

x
AlN AlxGa1-xN Eg

1-xN
G

GaN InN

GaN Pseudomorphic Relaxed with Misfit Morphology Mediated By Dislocaton

2.5

3 Lattice Constant

3.5

xAl = 0.2

xAl = 0.4

xAl = 0.6

xHC= 0.3

250 nm

250 nm

250 nm

relaxed

DISLOCATIONS LEAD TO PREMATURE RELAXATION OF AlGaN AND A POTENTIAL RELIABILITY PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE METALLIZED PITS
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UCSB With Increasing Mobility Issues

INCREASING Al MOLE FRACTION DECREASES MOBILITY
High Mobility AlGaN/GaN Structures Grown by RF Plasma Assisted MBE
30 25 NS , 10 12 cm -2 20 15 10 5 0 10 100 1000/T, 1/K x = 0.09 7 104 6 104 5 104 , cm2 /Vs 4 104 3 104 2 104 1 104 0 1000

1400

[cm2/ Vs] 300

1200 1000 800 600 0.1

Mobility v. Al Fraction Plot

2 [cm / Vs]

Al0.3Ga0.7N
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6
-2 13 [10 cm ]

RMS

[nm]

300

Relaxed
0.2 0.4 0.6

0.0

ns

x Al

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UCSB Minimizing Gate Length Extension

ELECTRONS IN SURFACE STATES AND/OR BUFFER TRAPS DEPLETE THE CHANNEL CAUSING GATE LENGTH EXTENSION

DC Dispersion

Id (5 mA)

AC Load line

SEVERE CONSEQUENCE: DISPERSION BETWEEN SMALL SIGNAL AND LARGE SIGNAL BEHAVIOR BECAUSE OF THE LARGE TRAP TIME CONSTANTS

Vds (V)

WHY DO THESE TRAPS ARISE?

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UCSB Example of Advantage of WBG Devices

10-x power density ( > 10 W/mm)
10-x reduction in power-combining
I N O U T

Improved efficiency (> 60 %) Improved reliability Compact size

I N

O U T

GaAs High Power

Amplifier Module

Superior Performance at reduced cost

Equivalent High Power GaN Amplifier Module

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UCSB Application Space

Military

1000 100
Watts

Ship Radar

Commercial Airborne Radar THAAD Navy Decoy Decoy

Base Station

10 1 0.1

LONGBOW Shipboard Radar,DD21 Radar Satcom Satcom UNII Hiperlan VSAT LMDS MVDS Digital Radio BAT P31 Missile Seekers CAR

Base Station MMDS, Driver WLL 3G Amp

S C X Ku 10 GHz 2 GHz

K Ka Q V W 60 GHz 30 GHz

Frequency Band

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UCSB Schematic of Device Structure

SiN Passivation

SOURCE

GATE

DRAIN

AlGaN

2DEG

GaN
Nucleation Layer GaN, AlGaN or AlN Substrate: Typically Sapphire or SiC

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UCSB and Stick Diagram of the GaN Crystal Ball

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UCSB Polarization World

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UCSB does the electron gas form in AlGaN/GaN structures? - A How

Q , AlGaN

Q , AlGaN

+++++++++++
GaN

AlxGa1-x N

Q , GaN Q , GaN

) +++++++++++
P( x ) = Q , AlGaN + ( Q ,GaN )

+++++++++++

Q includes the contribution of spontaneous and piezo-electric contributions

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UCSB
Q , InGaN

How does the electron gas form in AlGaN/GaN structures? - B

+Q , InGaN

+++++++++++

InxGa1-xN

P( x ) = Q ,GaN + ( Q ,InGaN )

Q , GaN Q , GaN

+++++++++++

Q includes the contribution of spontaneous and piezo-electric contributions

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UCSB does the electron gas form in AlGaN/GaN structures? - C How

VA l GaN ! Eg ,GaN + Ev = Maximum Dipole Moment

AlGaN

GaN

Eg , GaN

Ev

ps

Q (cm 2 ) ns

Q (cm 2 )

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UCSB does the electron gas form in AlGaN/GaN structures? - D How

EDD

AlGaN

GaN

EF

+ N DD

Q (cm 2 )

ns

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UCSB Dispersion in AlGaN/Ga HEMTs

DC

Dispersion

Id (5 mA)

AC

Load line

Vds (V)

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UCSB
Lg
Source GATE

Electrons in Surface States

Drain

AlGaN

GaN
Depletion of 2DEG caused by occupied surface states

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UCSB Performance of Passivated AlGaN/GaN HEMT on Sapphire

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UCSB Performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMT on SiC (CLC)

45

f=8GHz, Tuned for Power

Pout Gain PAE Id

P out = 10.3 W/mm PAE= 42% 41.6%

160 140 120

P out (dB), Gain(dB), PAE (%)

40 35 30 25

80 20 15 10 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 60 40 20 0

P in (dB)
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I d (mA)

100

UCSB Bias Dependence of Rf Power (CLC) Drain

10 9 8 7

PAE;

Pout

f=8GHz

70 60 50 40 30 20 10

Pout (W/mm)

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25

Increasing Vds

0 -10 -20 -30

Pin (dB)
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PAE (%)

UCSB AlGaN/GaN HEMT for Thermal Management Flip-chip

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UCSB Curves from 8mm-wide HEMT I-V

Vg start: +2V, Step: -2 V

Id (A/divsion)

Vds (V/divsion)
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UCSB Flip-chip Wide Bandwidth Amplifier Low

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UCSB Power Performance of mm-flipped Device Pulse

40 50

Gain (dB), DE(%), PAE(%)

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 18

G ain DE PAE Po u t

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10

22

26

30

34

38

42

Pin (dBm)
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Pout (dBm)

UCSB Performance vs. Year Power

108W, Cree CW Cree 11 10 Cree 9 UCSB 50

Power density
Cornell

60

Cree

Total power

Power density (W/mm)

8 CREE 7 6 5 UCSB HRL Cornell Cree

Total power (W)

40

SiC Sapphire

CREE HRL

30

Pl Ear ay ly er s

4 3 2 1

20

Cree

10

ly Ear ers y Pla

Cornell

NEC UCSB 2002

SiC Sapphire
1998 2000 2002

0 1996 1998 2000

0 1996

Year Year

Includes ALL LEADING players in the field CREE = Cree Lighting + Cree-Durham CreeU.S. Department of Defense

UCSB

Part II High Voltage Operation (> 330 V) of AlGaN/GaN HBTs

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UCSB Bipolar transistor key issues

Injection

!1 n!1
[I=I0 exp (qv/nkt)]

Transport
Emitter Base -- ! 1

Collector Subcollector

Collection

Output Conductance Cbc ! 0 IC/VCE ! 0 v ! vsat [2 x 107 cm/s] (Kolnik et. al.) (WB/VCE ! 0) Vbr ! Ecrit WC [Ecrit ~ 2 MV/cm] (Bhapkar and Shur.)
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UCSB Hurdles with GaN bipolar transistors

Lack of low damage etch to reveal base

Hard to control junction placement in

MOCVD due to memory effect of pdopant Mg

Leaky E/B junction Bad base contact No etch stop

High RB

Poor p-GaN base contact Low p-GaN base conductivity

Deep acceptor (~160 meV) Surface leakage due to etch damage

Emitter Base

Low minority carrier lifetime

Dislocation causes leakage

Collector Subcollector
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UCSB

Demonstration of dislocation enhanced leakage

LEO used to investigate leakage of devices without dislocations. (Lee McCarthy et al.)
10 10
-6

AFM scan of wing vs Window on LEO GaN

Leakage Current [A]

100 10

Dislocated
-9 -9

1 10

10 10

-12

100 10

-15

LEO
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

1 10

-15

Applied Bias [V]

Regrowth Mask

Regrowth Mask

Leakage from Collector to Emitter, Wing vs Window

LEO GaN Explanation

Standard template

Results: LEO device demonstrated

Reduction in Leakage Stable operation past 20V Gain unchanged Devices on dislocated material also functional

Thick substrate sufficiently reduces dislocations to prevent C/E short in window region Gain (e) not currently limited by dislocation density U.S. Department of Defense

UCSB Strategy: Thick Collector

Decent dislocation density

High quality MOCVD templates achieved

Dislocation density ~ 5e8 cm-2
Low background doping

ND < 1e16 cm-3 (Assuming uniform doping ND and Ecritical = 2 MV/cm,

requires 10 m to achieve 1 KV breakdown voltage.)
Doping vs. Depth (010704GA, 8 m collector)
1.E+17

Doping (cm )

-3

1.E+16 1.E+15 1.E+14 0 1 2 3

Depth ( m)
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UCSB Emitter Regrowth Process Flow

Selectively grow MOCVD emitter on base-collector structures.
1. Pattern regrowth mask 2. Regrow emitter layer by MOCVD 3. Remove mask and contact base and etch to collector 4. Contact collector, emitter

1.
Mask p Base n- Collector n+ Subcollector Sapphire Substrate

2.
n+ Emitter p Base n- Collector n+ Subcollector Sapphire Substrate

Regrown emitter

3.
Pd/Au
n+ Emitter p Base

4.

Al/Au
n+ Emitter p Base

n- Collector n+ Subcollector Sapphire Substrate

Al/Au

n- Collector n+ Subcollector

Sapphire Substrate

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UCSB SIMS: Mg by MOCVD

Severe memory effect observed in non-interrupted MOCVD growth Slow decay tail into GaN:Si regrown on as-grown GaN:Mg layer

1E+21

Concentration (cm -3)

Concentration (cm -3)

1E+20 1E+19 1E+18 1E+17 1E+16 1E+15 0

Turnoff of Mg source Decay rate ~ 140 nm/decade Si

1.E+21
Mg

1.E+20 1.E+19

Regrown surface Decay rate ~ 115 nm/decade

Mg

Low Mg background in clean reactor

Si

Growth direction
230 nm 400 nm

1.E+18 1.E+17
~ 30 nm/decade

1.E+16

0.5

1.5

2.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

Depth (m)

Depth (m)

Memory effect

Slow decay tail in regrowth

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UCSB SIMS: regrowth with surface treatment

Regrown in Mg-free reactor and all grown by MOCVD Presence of an excessive amount of Mg on the surface, which can be removed by acid etch Occurrence of Mg diffusion, ~ 40 nm/decade sharpness achieved
1E+23 1E+22 Mg concentration (a.u.) 1E+21 1E+20 1E+19 1E+18 1E+17 1E+16 1E+15 0 500 1000 Depth (nm)
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Regrowth surface C D E C: as grown, ~100 nm/decade D: etch in HFand HCl for 5 min, ~ 50 nm/decade E: etch in BHF (1:20) for 15 sec and HCl for 20 sec, ~40 nm/decade

Detection limit

1500

2000

UCSB Selectively regrown n/p diodes

Mask enhanced growth complicates the analysis

Regrowth rate depends on the mask layout, diode size etc Bunny ear regrowth profile is often seen Only the emitter edge is active in device operation due to highly resistive base layer The junction quality depends on how the regrowth is initiated, e.g. Temp, P, flows, presence of Si and Al etc.

Bunny ear regrowth profile of two different square diodes

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UCSB

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UCSB Regrown n/p Diodes Characteristics

Comparison of various structures regrown on 0.5 m GaN:Mg
Run # Layer structure Growth Parameter G.R. Temp/Press (nm/min) (C/Torr) ~30 1140/760

0005 10GF 0007 14AE

400 nm GaN:Si (4e18 cm-3) 250 nm Al0.06GaN:Si (1e18)

10 10

2 1 0

~30

1100/300

I density (A/cm )

10 10 10 10 1x10 1x10

-1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6

0007 14AF

xAl~ 5% 250 nm AlGaN:Si (1e18) 75 nm GaN->AlGaN:Si (1e18)

~30

1100/300

000510GF Year 2000 000714AE 000714AF 010513GC 010517AA

Year 2001

0105 13GC

450 nm GaN:Si (1e18) 30 nm GaN

~40

1100/300

0105 17AA

xAl~ 5% 30 nm GaN:Si 30 nm AlGaN->GaN:Si 730 nm AlGaN:Si 60 nm GaN->AlGaN 60 nm GaN

~60

1100/300

10

-20

-15

-10

-5

V (Volts)

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UCSB HBT with 8 mm GaN collector

Current gain () > 20 Common emitter operation > 300 V Non-passivated Base thickness 1000 Al0.05GaN emitter

Vbr ~330 V

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UCSB

Device structure

Utilization of uid GaN spacer and grading layer

- HBTs with high emitter injection coefficiency

Etch damage and current mask layout limits Vbr Effective collector thickness ~ 2-3 m grading
n+ Emitter 1000 p Base

4 nm GaN:Si (1e18 cm-3) contact 4 nm Al 0.05 GaN->GaN:Si (1e18 cm-3) 105 nm Al 0.05 GaN:Si (1e18 cm-3) emitter 8 nm GaN->Al 0.05 GaN (?3e18 cm-3) grading 8 nm uid GaN spacer 100 nm GaN:Mg (2e19 cm-3) base 8 m uid GaN (4e15 cm-3) collector 2 m GaN:Si (1e18 cm-3) subcollector

8 m n- collector

n+ Subcollector Sapphire Substrate

Sapphire

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UCSB I-V Characteristics

50 40 30 20 10

I (A)

reasonable base contacts Improved B/E diodes Rectifying B/C diodes, Vbr > 300 V

0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10

0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06

V (Volts)

I (m A)

0.04 0.02 0.00 -0.02 -0.04 -12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10

VBE (V)

Base-emitter diode

Base-collector diode U.S. Department of Defense

UCSB Summary
Conclusion

In selective emitter regrowth, a sharp Mg profile, ~ 40 nm/decade, enables the precise junction placement Improvement of regrown-emitter/base diodes Demonstration of high Vbr (> 300 V) with high (DC common emitter operation up to 35)

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