Design and Simulation of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Field-Effect Diode

Abstract

Modern system-on-chip (SoC) designers are trying to include more considerations in designing building blocks to present reliable integrated digital circuits as well as high-density, high-speed, and low-power ones. In this paper, an innovative device so-called High Electron Mobility Field-Effect Diode (HEMFED) is successfully designed based on AlGaN/GaN. To prohibit leakage of GaN buffer layer and weaken the impact of the buffer traps on electrical transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG), AlN spacer layer is embedded in the heterostructure. The proposed structure enhances ION/IOFF ratio up to 4.88×107 times compared to the AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Field-Effect Transistor (HEMT) counterpart, 8.20×108 times compared to the Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) counterpart, and 9.05×104 times compared to the Si Field-Effect Diode (FED) counterpart, at a supply voltage of VDD=1.8 V. This superiority of the proposed device is referred to the formation of a strong electric field of 800 kV/cm in 2-DEEG and the precipitation of electron sheet carriers in the channel. Accordingly, the proposed device can be utilized in high-speed and low-power digital applications.