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GaN power switching transistors featuring MIS- and MOS-gate structures are highly preferred over the Schottky-gate counterpart, because of suppressed gate leakage, enlarged gate swing, and more scalable threshold voltage. Nevertheless, MIS-/MOS-gate GaN devices are confronted with stability and reliability challenges, which arise from interface traps at the critical dielectric/III-nitride interface, as well as bulk traps inside the gate dielectric including border traps near the critical interface. In this work, we present several key techniques toward reliable MIS-/MOS-gate GaN power devices, including advanced interface engineering technology, gate structure optimizations for high-performance/stability normally-off GaN power transistors, and long-lifetime gate dielectric technology. Schematic cross sections of GaN-based MIS-HEMT and MOS-channel-HEMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective interface engineering techniques in III-nitride heterojunction power devices, aiming at yielding high VTH stability in insulated-gate devices and suppressed current collapse in high-voltage switching operation, are of critical significance to enhance device performance and reliability. In this work, we present an interface enhancement technology featuring in situ low-damage NH3/Ar/N2 pre-gate plasma treatment prior to the ALD-Al2O3 deposition for high-performance III-nitride MIS-HEMTs. It is manifest that this technology can effectively remove the native oxide while forming a monocrystal-like nitridation interfacial-layer (NIL) on the III-nitride surface. The Al2O3(NIL)/GaN/AlGaN/GaN MIS-heterostructures with high-quality interface exhibit well-behaved electrical characteristics, including a small subthreshold swing of ∼64 mV/dec, a small hysteresis of ∼0.09 V, tiny f/T dispersions in the C- V characteristics, and low interface trap density of ∼1 × 1012-6 × 1012 cm−2eV−1. Cross-sectional TEM micrograph of the Al2O3/III-nitride gate stack with a monocrystal-like nitridation interfacial-layer (NIL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

III-N devices are suitable for high power RF/microwave amplifier, high temperature electronics, and power switches applications, and the peripheral mixed-signal electronics with sensing, protection, and control functions could provide optimized performance, increased functionality, and enhanced reliability. This paper addresses the technology to discuss the technology options of implementing III-N mixed-signal circuits, and then reviews the recent progress in the expansion of design library, based on monolithically integrated enhancement/depletion (E/D)-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on GaN-on-silicon substrates. An integrated GaN proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) voltage source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide bandgap III‐nitride (III‐N) power switching transistors are capable of delivering superior performance for next‐generation energy‐efficient and compact power conversion systems. Owing to suppressed gate leakage and enlarged gate swing, III‐N insulatedgate devices are highly preferred over the conventional Schottkygate counterparts for high‐voltage power switches. Meanwhile, surface passivation with dielectric deposited in the gate–drain access region is necessary to allievate the surface‐state induced current collapse in high‐voltage switching operation. Therefore, effective interface engineering techniques for III‐N devices are of critical significance to enhance threshold‐voltage stability and dynamic performance. Chen et al. (pp. 1059–1065) present an interface enhancement technology featuring in situ low‐damage NH3/Ar/N2 pre‐gate plasma treatment prior to the Al2O3 gatedielectric deposition. This technology can effectively remove the native oxide while forming a monocrystal‐like nitridation interfaciallayer (NIL) with Al–N bonds on the III‐N surface, enabling the realization of high‐performance and high‐stability III‐N insulatedgate devices. The Al2O3(NIL)/GaN/AlGaN/GaN MIS heterostructures with high‐quality interface exhibit record electrical characteristics, including a steep subthreshold swing of ∼64 mV/dec, a small hysteresis of ∼0.09 V, tiny f/T‐dispersions in the capacitance– voltage characteristics, and low interface trap density. [To honour the laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2014, the cover of this pss (a) issue shows a specially designed pss logo assembled from blue nitride LEDs (courtesy of Armin Dadgar, Technical University of Magdeburg)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, characterizations are conducted to investigate the threshold voltage (VTH) stability of the normally‐off GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS‐) field‐effect transistor (FET) with fully recessed gate structure and highly reliable low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition SiNx gate dielectric. We conducted bias‐temperature instability (BTI) tests under both positive and negative gate bias. We demonstrated the highly stable VTH of the high‐performance MIS‐FETs with small BTI, which benefits from the effective interfacial protection layer. More specifically, combining the BTI tests and drain current 1/f noise analysis, we present extensive investigation of the physical origins of BTI. According to the experimental evidence and analysis, we ascribe the VTH instability to the trapping/detrapping of the pre‐existing trap states located at the SiNx/GaN interface and/or in the gate dielectric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to surface- and buffer-trapping, interface/border trapping and the consequent VTH shift in insulated-gate GaN power transistors could also cause RON increase, due to the reduced gate overdrive. This work reports on a systematic study of the trapping mechanisms in normally-on/off insulated-gate GaN transistors subjected to dynamic (AC) and static (DC) gate stress. The fast dynamic characterizations featuring an ultrashort measurement delay of 10−7 s minimize the recovery during measurement and enable a quantitative evaluation of VTH shift-induced RON increase. By analyzing the time-resolved instability in normally-on MIS-HEMT and normally-off MIS-FET with fully recessed barrier, we elucidate several key mechanisms including: (i) recessing the polarized III-nitride barrier layer can suppress VTH shift during ON/OFF switching; (ii) AC stress, which has more practical implication for lifetime projection for power switching applications, produces smaller VTH shift and RON increase comparing to DC stress; (iii) Sufficient gate overdrive at ON state and lower channel resistance in normally-on MIS-HEMT allow a better tolerance to VTH shift. Primary trapping effects in an insulated-gate GaN power transistor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of a photon source into the AlGaN/GaN high election mobility transistor (HEMT) platform will realize the functionality of on-chip optical pumping of deep electron traps which suppress the dynamic performances of power HEMTs. Here, we report a Schottky-on-heterojunction light-emitting diode (SoH-LED) realized on the p-doping-free lateral AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. A physical mode based on hot electron induced surface states impact ionization was proposed to explain the hole generation and injection processes in this p-doping-free SoH-LED. Since the SoH-LED shares identical epitaxial structures with HEMT, integration of SoH-LED and HEMT requires no additional epi-layers during the wafer growth and minimum process modification during device fabrication. The SoH-LED structure was seamlessly integrated into the HEMT platform as an on-chip photon source. Experiment results showed that the SoH-LED photons can effectively assist the electron de-trapping processes from both of the surface and bulk deep traps, demonstrating the feasibility of using on-chip generated photons to improve the dynamic performances of AlGaN/GaN power HEMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) induced by activating a patterned two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface of compound semiconductor AlGaN/GaN heterojunction has been demonstrated for the first time in our previous work. Briefly, with a peak voltage of ±10 V and a frequency from 100 kHz to 1 MHz, characteristics of both positive and negative DEP have been observed successfully manipulating 2 µm polystyrene microspheres in a drop of deionized (DI) water (pH ∼ 7 and conductivity 1 × 10−4 S m−1) over castellated 2DEG electrodes separated by critical dimensions 50 and 150 µm. This study reports a peculiar observation encountered when performing the DEP experiments under ultraviolet (UV) radiation: The microspheres have been repelled from the 2DEG electrodes yet remained on the surface during pDEP and then levitated upon switching to nDEP. This behavior is not observed in DEP with conventional microelectrodes and explained here by the UV-induced electron-hole generation and the subsequent charge redistribution in the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

III‐nitride optoelectronic and electronic devices have been essentially developed using different epi‐structures, i.e., ‘vertical’ pn junction and ‘lateral’ p‐doping‐free heterojunction, respectively. Integration of the photonic and electronic functionalities of III‐nitride semiconductors is of technological interest but has been challenged by the incompatibility of optimized epi‐growth conditions and by the complexity of integrated devices with different active layers. Baikui Li et al. (pp. 1213–1221) have achieved electroluminescence (EL) including the GaN band‐edge emission at 3.4 eV from Ni/Au‐ AlGaN/GaN p‐doping‐free Schottky‐on‐heterojunction diodes with forward biases higher than 2 V. Based on the surface states distribution of AlGaN, a hot‐electron‐induced surface states impact ionization model was proposed to explain the hole generation and EL process in the p‐doping‐free Schottkyon‐ heterojunction light‐emitting diodes (SoH‐LEDs). This SoH‐LED can be seamlessly integrated into the AlGaN/GaN power high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) platform as a unique on‐chip photon source. By integrating the SoH‐LED structure into the drain terminal of a HEMT, a transistor with photonicohmic drain (PODFET) is implemented. In PODFET, photon generation is inherently switched ON/OFF in synchronization with the channel current. The dynamic performances of the PODFET are significantly enhanced owing to photon pumping of deep electron traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]