Role of mechanical stress localizations on the radiation hardness of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Al-Mamun, Nahid Sultan; Rasel, Abu Jafar; Islam, Zahabul; Tzolov, Marian B.; Smyth, Christopher M.; Haque, Aman; Wolfe, Douglas E.; Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen

doi:10.1088/1361-6463/ad8b58

Title: Role of mechanical stress localizations on the radiation hardness of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Journal Article · 06 November 2024 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ad8b58 · OSTI ID:2476448

^[1]; Rasel, Abu Jafar ^[1]; Islam, Zahabul ^[2];

^[3]; Smyth, Christopher M. ^[4];

^[1]; Wolfe, Douglas E. ^[1]; Ren, Fan ^[5];

^[5]

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States)
Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Lock Haven, PA (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

Multi-material, multi-layered systems such as AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) contain residual mechanical stresses that arise from sharp contrasts in device geometry and materials parameters. These stresses, which can be either tensile or compressive, are difficult to detect and eliminate because of their highly localized nature. We propose that their high-stored internal energy makes potential sites for defect nucleation sites under radiation, particularly if their locations coincide with the electrically sensitive regions of a transistor. In this study, we validate this hypothesis with molecular dynamic simulation and experiments exposing both pristine and annealed HEMTS to 2.8 MeV Au⁺³ irradiation. Our unique annealing process uses mechanical momentum of electrons, also known as the electron wind force (EWF) to mitigate the residual stress at room temperature. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence spectra reveal the reduction of point defects and dislocations near the two-dimensional electron gas region of EWF-treated devices compared to pristine devices. The EWF-treated HEMTs showed relatively higher resilience with approximately 10% less degradation of drain saturation current and ON-resistance and 5% less degradation of peak transconductance. Both mobility and carrier concentration of the EWF-treated devices were less impacted compared to the pristine devices. Our results suggest that the lower density of nanoscale stress localization contributed to the improved radiation tolerance of the EWF-treated devices. Intriguingly, the EWF is found to modulate the defect distribution by moving the defects to electrically less sensitive regions in the form of dislocation networks, which act as sinks for the radiation induced defects and this assisted faster dynamic annealing.

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

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

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2476448

Journal Information:: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 58; ISSN 0022-3727; ISSN 1361-6463

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Role of mechanical stress localizations on the radiation hardness of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

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