The effect of dielectric stress on the electrical characteristics of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs)

We present an experimental analysis on the effect of dielectric stress on the electrical characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HFETs. Issues such as maximum current (I/sub d-max/), gate leakage and current collapse are presented. Different dielectric deposition conditions were used to vary the amount of stre...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tan, W.S., Hill, G., Houston, P.A., Low, M.W., Parbrook, P.J., Airey, R.J.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum gallium nitride
Compressive stress
Dielectrics
Electric variables
Gallium nitride
Gate leakage
HEMTs
Leakage current
MODFETs
Tensile stress
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Summary:We present an experimental analysis on the effect of dielectric stress on the electrical characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HFETs. Issues such as maximum current (I/sub d-max/), gate leakage and current collapse are presented. Different dielectric deposition conditions were used to vary the amount of stress induced on the wafer and the devices were measured before and after passivation. A striking feature observed was the strong dependence of I/sub d-max/ on the amount of stress induced by the dielectric. I/sub d-max/ increases when the stress is tensile and reduces when it is compressive. The rise in leakage current was found to be dependent on the dielectric film itself and not on the stress induced, which suggests that a surface effect is responsible for the leakage mechanism.
DOI:10.1109/EDMO.2002.1174943