High-electric-field Induced Trap Generation in AlGaN/GaN Heterostructure Field-effect Transistors

초록

A high-electric-field stress test was performed on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) and degradations in the transistor characteristics were observed. The stress tests were combined with measurements of the low-frequency noise (Flicker's noise), the transient of the surface potential and the gate lag (dispersion between the pulsed and the static I-V characteristics) in order to investigate mechanisms for the observed degradation. Increases in the noise spectrum level, the magnitude of the transient of the surface potential, and the gate lag were observed after the HFETs had been submitted to the stress test. This result suggests that carrier traps are created in the devices under high field stress and that these traps aggravate the degradation of the device's DC and microwave power performances.

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