Enhanced Breakdown Voltage of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT using GaN Buffer with Carbon-Doping on Silicon for Power Device

Abstract

In recent years, Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MISHEMTs) have attracted interest in high-power and high-frequency applications. The breakdown mechanism in E-mode GaN MISHEMTs with carbon doping in the GaN buffer grown on a Silicon (Si) substrate (Sub) was investigated using technology computer-aided design simulations. Results showed that GaN MISHEMTs without Si Sub had a breakdown voltage (BV) of 600 V. However, after adding Si Sub to the GaN buffer layer, the electric field (EF) increased, creating a vertical breakdown through the total buffer thickness, therefore, BV was reduced to around 240 V. On the other hand, BV is increased to approximately >1100 V, and the Electric field is reduced after employing a carbon deep acceptor with the proper doping concentration in this device. The GaN MISHEMTs with Si Sub is presented as threshold voltage +1.5 V with transconductance of 700 mS/mm, which is an excellent result compared to GaN MISHEMTs without Si Sub. Eventually, the study device depicted higher BV performance compared to other C-doped GaN HEMT devices. This suggests that the designed GaN MISHEMTs device could effectively be used in power semiconductor devices with optimum performance.