Normally-off metamorphic AlInAs/AlInAs HEMTs on Si substrates grown by MOCVD**Project supported by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant No. 61401373), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central University, China (Grant No. XDJK2013B004 and 2362014XK13), and the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Southwest University, China (Grant No. SWU111030).

Abstract

A combination of self-aligned fluoride-based plasma treatment and post-gate rapid thermal annealing was developed to fabricate a novel 120-nm T-shaped gate normally-off metamorphic Al0.49In0.51As/Ga0.47In0.53As HEMT device on a Si substrate grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A shift of the threshold voltage, from −0.42 V to 0.11 V was obtained and the shift can be effectively adjusted by the process parameter of CF4 plasma treatment. Furthermore, a side benefit of reducing the leakage current of the device up to two orders of magnitude was also observed. E-mode transistors with 120 nm gate length own fT up to 160 GHz and fmax of 140 GHz. These characteristics imply the potential of the fluoride-based plasma treatment technology for the fabrication of monolithic enhancement/depletion-mode mHEMTs, which also encourage the massive production with this low-cost technology.