Thermal analysis of an α-Ga2O3 MOSFET using micro-Raman spectroscopy

The ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) energy (∼5.4 eV) of α-phase Ga2O3 offers the potential to achieve higher power switching performance and efficiency than today's power electronic devices. However, a major challenge to the development of the α-Ga2O3 power electronics is overheating, which can degra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2023-11, Vol.123 (19)
Main Authors: Karim, Anwarul, Song, Yiwen, Shoemaker, Daniel C., Jeon, Dae-Woo, Park, Ji-Hyeon, Mun, Jae Kyoung, Lee, Hun Ki, Choi, Sukwon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Buffer layers
Gallium nitrides
Gallium oxides
Heat conductivity
Heat transfer
High electron mobility transistors
Laser applications
MOSFETs
Overheating
Raman spectroscopy
Room temperature
Semiconductor devices
Substrates
Thermal analysis
Thermal conductivity
Thermal management
Thermal resistance
Thermodynamic properties
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Summary:The ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) energy (∼5.4 eV) of α-phase Ga2O3 offers the potential to achieve higher power switching performance and efficiency than today's power electronic devices. However, a major challenge to the development of the α-Ga2O3 power electronics is overheating, which can degrade the device performance and cause reliability issues. In this study, thermal characterization of an α-Ga2O3 MOSFET was performed using micro-Raman thermometry to understand the device self-heating behavior. The α-Ga2O3 MOSFET exhibits a channel temperature rise that is more than two times higher than that of a GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). This is mainly because of the low thermal conductivity of α-Ga2O3 (11.9 ± 1.0 W/mK at room temperature), which was determined via laser-based pump-probe experiments. A hypothetical device structure was constructed via simulation that transfer-bonds the α-Ga2O3 epitaxial structure over a high thermal conductivity substrate. Modeling results suggest that the device thermal resistance can be reduced to a level comparable to or even better than those of today's GaN HEMTs using this strategy combined with thinning of the α-Ga2O3 buffer layer. The outcomes of this work suggest that device-level thermal management is essential to the successful deployment of UWBG α-Ga2O3 devices.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/5.0164095