Reliability improvement in GaN HEMT power device using a field plate approach. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Wen-Hao; Lin, Yueh-Chin; Chin, Ping-Chieh; Hsu, Chia-Chieh; Lee, Jin-Hwa; Liu, Shih-Chien; Maa, Jer-shen; Iwai, Hiroshi; Chang, Edward Yi; Hsu, Heng-Tung
• Is Part Of: Solid-state electronics. Volume 133(2017)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 69
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: GaN HEMT -- Field plate -- High-voltage stress -- Reliability; Semiconductors -- Periodicals; Semiconducteurs -- Périodiques; 621.38152
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sse.2017.05.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-1101

Abstract

Highlights: The effect of implementing a field plate to improve device reliability is proposed. Field-plated devices showed smaller current collapse and better threshold control. Suppression of defect generation reduced degradations in Ron and gate capacitance. Abstract: This study investigates the effect of implementing a field plate on a GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) to improve power device reliability. The results indicate that the field plate structure reduces the peak electrical field and interface traps in the device, resulting in higher breakdown voltage, lower leakage current, smaller current collapse, and better threshold voltage control. Furthermore, after high voltage stress, steady dynamic on-resistance and gate capacitance degradation improvement were observed for the device with the field plate. This demonstrates that GaN device reliability can be improved by using the field plate approach.