Heavy ion irradiation induced failure of gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors: effects of in-situ biasing

Rasel, Md Abu Jafar; Schoell, Ryan; Al-Mamun, Nahid Sultan; Hattar, Khalid; Harris, C. Thomas; Haque, Aman; Wolfe, Douglas E.; Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen J.

doi:10.1088/1361-6463/accfa7

Title: Heavy ion irradiation induced failure of gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors: effects of in-situ biasing

Journal Article · 09 May 2023 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/accfa7 · OSTI ID:1973035

Rasel, Md Abu Jafar ^[1]; Schoell, Ryan ^[2]; Al-Mamun, Nahid Sultan ^[1]; Hattar, Khalid ^[3];

^[2];

^[1]; Wolfe, Douglas E. ^[1]; Ren, Fan ^[4];

^[4]

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

While radiation is known to degrade AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), the question remains on the extent of damage governed by the presence of an electrical field in the device. In this study, we induced displacement damage in HEMTs in both ON and OFF states by irradiating with 2.8 MeV Au⁴⁺ ion to fluence levels ranging from 1.72 × 10¹⁰ to 3.745 × 10¹³ ions/cm², or 0.001 to 2 displacement per atom (dpa). Electrical measurement is done in situ, and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Geometrical Phase Analysis (GPA), and micro-Raman are performed on the highest fluence of Au⁴⁺ irradiated devices. The selected heavy ion irradiation causes cascade damage in the passivation, AlGaN, and GaN layers and at all associated interfaces. After just 0.1 dpa, the current density in the ON-mode device deteriorates by two orders of magnitude, whereas the OFF-mode device totally ceases to operate. Moreover, six orders of magnitude increase in leakage current and loss of gate control over the 2DEG channel are observed. GPA and Raman analysis reveal strain relaxation after a 2 dpa damage level in devices. Significant defects and intermixing of atoms near AlGaN/GaN interfaces and GaN layer are found from HRTEM and EDX analysis, which can substantially alter device characteristics and result in complete failure.

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Research Organization:: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525; HDTRA1-20-2-0002; ECCS 201579; DMR 1856662; NA-0003525

OSTI ID:: 1973035

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1971254; OSTI ID: 2311594

Report Number(s):: SAND-2023-03374J; TRN: US2409166

Journal Information:: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics, Vol. 56, Issue 30; ISSN 0022-3727

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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