AlN passivation by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition for GaN-based power switches and power amplifiers

Abstract

Developing an effective passivation technique for AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is of primary importance to keep pace with the advancement of GaN-based high-voltage power switches and high-power amplifiers. In this work, effective passivation of AlGaN/GaN HEMT has been developed using a monocrystal-like AlN thin film grown by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) (PEALD). Significant current collapse suppression and dynamic ON-resistance reduction are demonstrated in the PEALD-AlN-passivated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, especially under high-drain-bias switching conditions. An output power density of 2.64 W mm−1 at 2 GHz is achieved on the PEALD-AlN-passivated GaN-on-Si HEMTs without the use of the field-plate. The physical mechanism of the PEALD-AlN passivation of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is systematically investigated with high-frequency and quasi-static capacitance–voltage (C–V) characterizations, and a novel passivation scheme using polarization charges in passivation materials to compensate the slow-response interface trap states is proposed.