Neutron radiation hardness testing of 650V / 7.5 A GaN power HEMT

Abstract

We have performed neutron radiation hardness testing for commercially available 650 V/7.5 A GaN power HEMT. The devices were tested at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) inside Irradiation of Chips Electronics, ICE house-1 at a flux density of 106 n/cm2-s and energy level above 1 MeV, which is approximately 106 times higher than neutron radiation at airliner flight height (30,000 ft). During the experiments, the devices were stressed electrically, thermally and irradiated with neutron radiation. We have observed degradation of AlGaN layer due to accelerated neutron radiation (1.54 × 1010 n/cm2 above 1.5 MeV neutron energy) under electrical stress condition. We have performed parametric defect analysis through step-by-step application of neutron irradiation, thermal stress and electrical bias, and observed highest degradation of threshold voltage (0.14 V) for combined electrical stress and neutron irradiation.