Thanks to high-current densities and cutoff frequencies, short-channel length AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are a promising technology solution for implementing RF power amplifiers in 5G front-end modules. These devices, however, might suffer from current collapse due to trapping effects, leading to compressed output power. Here, we investigate the trap dynamic response in 0.15 μm GaN HEMTs by means of pulsed I-V characterization and drain current transients (DCTs). Pulsed I-V curves reveal an almost absent gate-lag but significant current collapse when pulsing both gate and drain voltages. The thermally activated Arrhenius process (with EA ≈ 0.55 eV) observed during DCT measurements after a short trap-filling pulse (i.e., 1 μs) indicates that current collapse is induced by deep trap states associated with iron (Fe) doping present in the buffer. Interestingly, analogous DCT characterization carried out after a long trap-filling pulse (i.e., 100 s) revealed yet another process with time constants of about 1–2 s and which was approximately independent of temperature. We reproduced the experimentally observed results with two-dimensional device simulations by modeling the T-independent process as the charging of the interface between the passivation and the AlGaN barrier following electron injection from the gate.

Temperature-Independent Current Dispersion in 0.15 μm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for 5G Applications / Zagni, Nicolo'; Verzellesi, Giovanni; Chini, Alessandro. - In: MICROMACHINES. - ISSN 2072-666X. - 13:12(2022), pp. 1-8. [10.3390/mi13122244]

Temperature-Independent Current Dispersion in 0.15 μm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for 5G Applications

Zagni Nicolo'
;
Verzellesi Giovanni;Chini Alessandro
2022

Abstract

Thanks to high-current densities and cutoff frequencies, short-channel length AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are a promising technology solution for implementing RF power amplifiers in 5G front-end modules. These devices, however, might suffer from current collapse due to trapping effects, leading to compressed output power. Here, we investigate the trap dynamic response in 0.15 μm GaN HEMTs by means of pulsed I-V characterization and drain current transients (DCTs). Pulsed I-V curves reveal an almost absent gate-lag but significant current collapse when pulsing both gate and drain voltages. The thermally activated Arrhenius process (with EA ≈ 0.55 eV) observed during DCT measurements after a short trap-filling pulse (i.e., 1 μs) indicates that current collapse is induced by deep trap states associated with iron (Fe) doping present in the buffer. Interestingly, analogous DCT characterization carried out after a long trap-filling pulse (i.e., 100 s) revealed yet another process with time constants of about 1–2 s and which was approximately independent of temperature. We reproduced the experimentally observed results with two-dimensional device simulations by modeling the T-independent process as the charging of the interface between the passivation and the AlGaN barrier following electron injection from the gate.
2022
16-dic-2022
13
12
1
8
Temperature-Independent Current Dispersion in 0.15 μm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for 5G Applications / Zagni, Nicolo'; Verzellesi, Giovanni; Chini, Alessandro. - In: MICROMACHINES. - ISSN 2072-666X. - 13:12(2022), pp. 1-8. [10.3390/mi13122244]
Zagni, Nicolo'; Verzellesi, Giovanni; Chini, Alessandro
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1293284
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