Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication

Zhang, Penghao; Wang, Luyu; Zhu, Kaiyue; Wang, Qiang; Pan, Maolin; Huang, Ziqiang; Yang, Yannan; Xie, Xinling; Huang, Hai; Hu, Xin; Xu, Saisheng; Xu, Min; Wang, Chen; Wu, Chunlei; Zhang, David Wei

doi:10.3390/mi14081523

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication

by

Penghao Zhang

^1,†,

Luyu Wang

^1,†,

Kaiyue Zhu

²,

Qiang Wang

¹,

Maolin Pan

¹,

Ziqiang Huang

¹,

Yannan Yang

¹,

Xinling Xie

¹,

Hai Huang

¹,

Xin Hu

¹,

Saisheng Xu

¹,

Min Xu

^1,*,

Chen Wang

^1,*,

Chunlei Wu

¹ and

David Wei Zhang

^1,*

¹

State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

²

Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Micromachines 2023, 14(8), 1523; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081523

Submission received: 30 June 2023 / Revised: 22 July 2023 / Accepted: 25 July 2023 / Published: 29 July 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing Technologies)

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Abstract

A systematic study of epi-AlGaN/GaN on a SiC substrate was conducted through a comprehensive analysis of material properties and device performance. In this novel epitaxial design, an AlGaN/GaN channel layer was grown directly on the AlN nucleation layer, without the conventional doped thick buffer layer. Compared to the conventional epi-structures on the SiC and Si substrates, the non-buffer epi-AlGaN/GaN structure had a better crystalline quality and surface morphology, with reliable control of growth stress. Hall measurements showed that the novel structure exhibited comparable transport properties to the conventional epi-structure on the SiC substrate, regardless of the buffer layer. Furthermore, almost unchanged carrier distribution from room temperature to 150 °C indicated excellent two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) confinement due to the pulling effect of the conduction band from the nucleation layer as a back-barrier. High-performance depletion-mode MIS-HEMTs were demonstrated with on-resistance of 5.84 Ω·mm and an output current of 1002 mA/mm. The dynamic characteristics showed a much smaller decrease in the saturation current (only ~7%), with a quiescent drain bias of 40 V, which was strong evidence of less electron trapping owing to the high-quality non-buffer AlGaN/GaN epitaxial growth.

Keywords: GaN; MIS-HEMTs; buffer layer; SiC substrate; current collapse

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, P.; Wang, L.; Zhu, K.; Wang, Q.; Pan, M.; Huang, Z.; Yang, Y.; Xie, X.; Huang, H.; Hu, X.; et al. Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication. Micromachines 2023, 14, 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081523

AMA Style

Zhang P, Wang L, Zhu K, Wang Q, Pan M, Huang Z, Yang Y, Xie X, Huang H, Hu X, et al. Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication. Micromachines. 2023; 14(8):1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081523

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Penghao, Luyu Wang, Kaiyue Zhu, Qiang Wang, Maolin Pan, Ziqiang Huang, Yannan Yang, Xinling Xie, Hai Huang, Xin Hu, and et al. 2023. "Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication" Micromachines 14, no. 8: 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081523

APA Style

Zhang, P., Wang, L., Zhu, K., Wang, Q., Pan, M., Huang, Z., Yang, Y., Xie, X., Huang, H., Hu, X., Xu, S., Xu, M., Wang, C., Wu, C., & Zhang, D. W. (2023). Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication. Micromachines, 14(8), 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081523

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Non-Buffer Epi-AlGaN/GaN on SiC for High-Performance Depletion-Mode MIS-HEMTs Fabrication

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