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Record >10 MV/cm mesa breakdown fields in Al0.85Ga0.15N/Al0.6Ga0.4N high electron mobility transistors on native AlN substrates

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083966· OSTI ID:1979046
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [3];  [5];  [3];  [3]
  1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States); North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
  2. Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States)
  3. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
  4. EAG Eurofins Materials Science, Raleigh, NC (United States)
  5. Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States); North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The ultra-wide bandgap of Al-rich AlGaN is expected to support a significantly larger breakdown field compared to GaN, but the reported performance thus far has been limited by the use of foreign substrates. In this Letter, the material and electrical properties of Al0.85Ga0.15N/Al0.6Ga0.4N high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) grown on a 2-in. single crystal AlN substrate are investigated, and it is demonstrated that native AlN substrates unlock the potential for Al-rich AlGaN to sustain large fields in such devices. We further study how Ohmic contacts made directly to a Si-doped channel layer reduce the knee voltage and increase the output current density. High-quality AlGaN growth is confirmed via scanning transmission electron microscopy, which also reveals the absence of metal penetration at the Ohmic contact interface and is in contrast to established GaN HEMT technology. Two-terminal mesa breakdown characteristics with 1.3 μm separation possess a record-high breakdown field strength of ~11.5 MV/cm for an undoped Al0.6Ga0.4N-channel layer. The breakdown voltages for three-terminal devices measured with gate-drain distances of 4 and 9 μm are 850 and 1500 V, respectively.
Research Organization:
Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); Army Research Office (ARO); National Science Foundation (NSF); North Carolina State University; USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0011883
OSTI ID:
1979046
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1970650
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 120; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
capacitance voltage profiling
current-voltage characteristic
doping
electrical properties and parameters
field effect transistors
heterostructures
high voltage technology
ohmic contacts
semiconductor device fabrication
transmission electron microscopy