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

Khachariya, Dolar; Mita, Seiji; Reddy, Pramod; Dangi, Saroj; Dycus, J. Houston; Bagheri, Pegah; Breckenridge, M. Hayden; Sengupta, Rohan; Rathkanthiwar, Shashwat; Kirste, Ronny; Kohn, Erhard; Sitar, Zlatko; Collazo, Ramón; Pavlidis, Spyridon

doi:10.1063/5.0083966

Title: Record >10 MV/cm mesa breakdown fields in Al_0.85Ga_0.15N/Al_0.6Ga_0.4N high electron mobility transistors on native AlN substrates

Journal Article · Tue Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083966· OSTI ID:1979046

^[1]; Mita, Seiji ^[2]; Reddy, Pramod ^[2]; Dangi, Saroj ^[1]; Dycus, J. Houston ^[3];

^[1];

^[1]; Sengupta, Rohan ^[1];

^[1]; Kirste, Ronny ^[2]; Kohn, Erhard ^[1];

^[4]; Collazo, Ramón ^[1];

^[1]

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States)
EAG Eurofins Materials Science, Raleigh, NC (United States)
Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States); North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)

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 Al_0.85Ga_0.15N/Al_0.6Ga_0.4N 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 Al_0.6Ga_0.4N-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.

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Research Organization:: Adroit Materials, Cary, NC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); Army Research Office (ARO); North Carolina State University

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0011883; ECCS-1508854; ECCS-1610992; ECCS-1843395; ECCS-1916800; ECCS-1653383; DMR-1508191; FA9550-17-1-0225; FA9550-19-1-0114; FA9550-19-1-0358; W911NF-16-C-0101; W911NF-15-2-0068; W911NF-18-1-0415; ECCS-1542015; PowerAmerica Institute

OSTI ID:: 1979046

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1970650

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 120, Issue 17; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (21)

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

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Title: Record >10 MV/cm mesa breakdown fields in Al_0.85Ga_0.15N/Al_0.6Ga_0.4N high electron mobility transistors on native AlN substrates