Enhancement-Mode 300-mm GaN-on-Si(111) With Integrated Si CMOS for Future mm-Wave RF Applications

A 300-mm GaN-on-Si(111) high -k gate dielectric E-mode GaN MOSHEMT technology is demonstrated with uniform process and wafer characteristics. The E-mode GaN MOSHEMT of L-G = 90 nm, L-GS = L-GD = 80 nm, is enabled by 300-mm process capabilities in deep U (DUV) lithography, MOCVD, atomic layer etch (ALE), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and Cu interconnect. The GaN MOSHEMT shows excel-lent ON/OFF characteristics, low leakages, low R-on, high I-D, and f(T)/f(MAX) of 140/280 GHz. A 42-GHz mm-Wave power amplifier (PA) fabricated in this process for the first time demonstrates a saturated power of 25.6 dBm, a linear gain of 22.5 dB, and a PAE of 35.7%. In this technology, high f(T)/f(MAX) is obtained by scaling to thin equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and short L-G, and high breakdown is achieved with extended L(GD )and field plating. Si CMOS can be integrated with this GaN technology using 3-D layer transfer and does not alter the RF performance of the GaN MOSHEMT. Record f(MAX) = 700 GHz ( f(T) = 115 GHz) is obtained with an L-G = 50 nm GaN MOSHEMT with submicrometer source field plate (FP) fabricated using this 300-mm GaN MOSHEMT process with integrated Si CMOS. Finally, progress on process design kit (PDK) development for this technology is reported.

Automated summary

This article demonstrates a 300 mm GaN-on-Si(111) high-k gate dielectric E-mode GaN MOSHEMT technology with uniform process and wafer characteristics. The technology enables an E-mode GaN MOSHEMT with L-G = 90 nm, L-GS = L-GD = 80 nm using 300 mm process capabilities. The GaN MOSHEMT exhibits excellent ON/OFF characteristics, low leakages, low R-on, high I-D, and f(T)/f(MAX) of 140/280 GHz.