Enhancement-Mode GaN Transistor Technology for Harsh Environment Operation

Abstract

This letter reports an enhancement-mode (E-mode) GaN transistor technology which has been demonstrated to operate in a simulated Venus environment (460 °C, ~ 92 atm., containing CO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /N <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> etc.) for 10 days. The robustness of the W/p-GaN-gate AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) was evaluated by two complementary approaches, (1) <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">in-situ</i> electrical characterization, which revealed proper transistor operation (including E-mode <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V_TH</i> with < 0.09 V variation) in extreme environments; and (2) advanced microscopy investigation of the device after test, which highlighted the effect of the stress conditions on the epitaxial and device structures. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first demonstration and comprehensive analysis of E-mode GaN transistors in such harsh environments, therefore establishing the proposed GaN technology as a strong contender for harsh environment mixed-signal electronics.