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Electrical and Optical Characterization of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with In Situ and Ex Situ Deposited SiN x Layers

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Abstract

A comparative study of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) surface passivation using ex situ and in situ deposited SiN x is presented. Performing ex situ SiN x passivation increased the reverse gate leakage and off-state channel leakage by about three orders of magnitude. The in situ SiN x layer was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and capacitance–voltage (CV) measurements. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra indicated a reduction of nonradiative recombination centers in in situ SiN x -passivated samples, indicating improved crystal quality. CV measurements indicated a reduction of surface state density as well, and thus better overall passivation using in situ SiN x . Electroluminescence (EL) images of the channel regions in AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices operating in forward blocking mode with up to 400 V drain bias demonstrated reduced channel emission profiles of in situ-passivated devices. Compared with a nonpassivated reference sample, the reduced EL emission profiles correlated with a reduced channel temperature on ex situ SiN x -passivated devices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Marko J. Tadjer

  2. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, 20375, USA

    Travis J. Anderson, Karl D. Hobart, Michael A. Mastro, Jennifer K. Hite, Joshua D. Caldwell, Yoosuf N. Picard, Fritz J. Kub & Charles R. Eddy Jr.

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  1. Marko J. Tadjer
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  2. Travis J. Anderson
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  3. Karl D. Hobart
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  4. Michael A. Mastro
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  5. Jennifer K. Hite
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  6. Joshua D. Caldwell
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  7. Yoosuf N. Picard
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  8. Fritz J. Kub
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  9. Charles R. Eddy Jr.
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Correspondence to Marko J. Tadjer.

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Tadjer, M.J., Anderson, T.J., Hobart, K.D. et al. Electrical and Optical Characterization of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with In Situ and Ex Situ Deposited SiN x Layers. J. Electron. Mater. 39, 2452–2458 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1343-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1343-9

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