Reliability Improvement of AlInAs/GaInAs High Electron Mobility Transistors by Fluorine Incorporation Control

Abstract

The effectiveness of fluorine incorporation control for reliability improvement of the AlInAs/GaInAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is demonstrated. The inverted‐type HEMT (i‐HEMT) is found to be one of the feasible structures. In this structure, the GaInAs channel layer functions as a blocking layer against the thermal diffusion of fluorine into the AlInAs electron supply layer, which is a main cause of the electrical deterioration in the HEMT material. Under dc operation at an ambient temperature of 170°C, the zero‐gate‐bias saturated drain current of the i‐HEMT decreases only a few percent even after 3,500 h. The projected median‐time‐to‐failure of the i‐HEMT is estimated to be 107 h at a temperature of 125°C, which is almost twice that of the conventional‐type AlInAs/GaInAs HEMT.