Next generation electronics on the ultrawide-bandgap aluminum nitride platform

Abstract

Gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs) are at a point of rapid growth in defense (radar, SATCOM) and commercial (5G and beyond) industries. This growth also comes at a point at which the standard GaN heterostructures remain unoptimized for maximum performance. For this reason, we propose the shift to the aluminum nitride (AlN) platform. AlN allows for smarter, highly-scaled heterostructure design that will improve the output power and thermal management of III-nitride amplifiers. Beyond improvements over the incumbent amplifier technology, AlN will allow for a level of integration previously unachievable with GaN electronics. State-of-the-art high-current p-channel FETs, mature filter technology, and advanced waveguides, all monolithically integrated with an AlN/GaN/AlN HEMT, is made possible with AlN. It is on this new AlN platform that nitride electronics may maximize their full high-power, high-speed potential for mm-wave communication and high-power logic applications.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 22, 2021
Source ID
10.1088/1361-6641/abe5fd

Entities

People

  • Austin Hickman
  • Debdeep Jena
  • Huili Grace Xing
  • James C. M. Hwang
  • Kazuki Nomoto
  • Lei Li
  • Reet Chaudhuri
  • Samuel J Bader

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Division of Materials Research
  • Intel Corporation
  • Semiconductor Research Corporation

Tags

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • 5G
  • 5G - Internet of Things
  • Microelectronics