An AlGaN/GaN HEMT with enhanced breakdown and a near-zero breakdown voltage temperature coefficient

Abstract

An AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with a novel source-connected air-bridge field plate (AFP) is experimentally verified. The device features a metal field plate that jumps from the source over the gate region and lands between the gate and drain. When compared to a similar size HEMT device with a conventional field plate (CFP) structure, the AFP not only minimizes the parasitic gate to source capacitance, but also exhibits higher OFF-state breakdown voltage and one order of magnitude lower drain leakage current. In a device with a gate to drain distance of 6 μm and a gate length of 0.8 μm, three times higher forward blocking voltage of 375 V was obtained at VGS = −5 V. In contrast, a similar sized HEMT with a CFP can only achieve a breakdown voltage no higher than 125 V using this process, regardless of device dimensions. Moreover, a temperature coefficient of 0 V/K for the breakdown voltage is observed. However, devices without a field plate (no FP) and with an optimized conventional field plate (CFP) exhibit breakdown voltage temperature coefficients of −0.113 V/K and −0.065 V/K, respectively.