Electrothermal Performance of AlGaN/GaN Lateral Transistors with > 10 mu m Thick GaN Buffer on 200 mm Diameter-Engineered Substrates

Herein, the electrical and thermal performance of lateral AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and metal-insulator-semiconductor field effect transistors (MISFETs) fabricated with 11 mu m thick GaN buffer layers on 200 mm diameter Qromis Substrate Technology (QST) substrates are investigated. The QST substrate has a polycrystalline core engineered to be coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)-matched to GaN to minimize wafer bow and residual stress in the GaN film as a result of epitaxial growth. Raman spectroscopy is used to determine the biaxial residual stress in the GaN buffer of the as-fabricated devices. Electrical characterization is demonstrated on the HEMTs including DC and pulsed output characteristics, DC transfer characteristics, Hall mobility, carrier concentration, sheet resistance, median transition frequency, and maximum stable gain. Finally, the thermal performance of the AlGaN/GaN MISFET is assessed via thermoreflectance thermal imaging at DC power densities up to 19 W mm(-1). The thermal resistance of the MISFET, calculated using the peak temperature rises on the gate electrode for DC power densities <10 W mm(-1), is measured to be 15.4 mm K W-1, which is comparable with state-of-the-art GaN-on-Si lateral transistors.

Automated summary

In this study, the electrical and thermal performance of lateral AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and MISFETs fabricated with 11 μm thick GaN buffer layers on 200 mm diameter QST substrates were investigated. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the biaxial residual stress in the GaN buffer, while electrical characterization included various measures such as DC and pulsed output characteristics and Hall mobility. The thermal performance of the AlGaN/GaN MISFET was assessed through thermoreflectance thermal imaging.