The Heterogeneous Integration of GaN-HEMTs for RF applications.
Abstract
The impact of the radiation on the physics of semiconductors includes the mechanism for changes of electrical properties of an irradiated electrical structure. In this proposal we are planning to design, fabrication and test a radiation tolerant on GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) devices which are compatible with RF communication and power conversion circuits. GaN-HEMT (High-Electron Mobility Transistors) are the most promising candidates for highly efficient power converters due to the high switching speeds, enabled by the 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel region and low on-state resistance. However, when considering the susceptibility of single event burnout (SEB) resulting from a heavy ion strike, GaN devices (and other wide-bandgap devices) perform significantly worse than silicon-based counterparts due to extremely high electric fields coupled with ion-induced short circuits between the transistor source and drain regions. HEMTs that meet reasonable resistance on (Ron) were demonstrated, however they were not designed to be radiations tolerant or compatible with CMOS technologies. In this proposal we have two main claims- First, designing new HEMT that are more radiation tolerant during a heavy ion strike. This will be achieved by embedding a layer of charge under the 2DEG channel region sufficient to mitigate ion-induce electric field pileup and lowering the overall susceptibility of the device to single event burnout. Implanting activated charges in HEMTs Devices have been demonstrated before only to achieve isolation. This was demonstrated experimentally to be a more successful method over mesa etching lower leakage and higher breakdown voltage of isolation regions are observed. Second, we propose an innovative opportunity to grow the GaN-HEMT on a sacrificial layer, from which the GaN-HEMT can be released and transferred to another substrate using a micro-transfer printing technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310620
Entities
People
- Mona Ebrish
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- Vanderbilt University