Efficacy of back barrier engineered Π-gate InAlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors for high-power applications

Abstract This work investigates thin-barrier InAlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) for high-power applications through technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations. To begin with, the TCAD simulations were first calibrated with an in-house fabricated InAlN HEMT sample for both DC and pulsed characteristics. The thin-barrier InAlN/GaN HEMTs showed a large leakage current through the gate electrode due to high gate injection, which severely degrades the breakdown characteristics of the device and thus acts as a bottleneck for high-power applications. To improve the two-dimensional electron gas confinement, and consequently reduce the bulk leakage, a back-barrier technique was used. The resistive GaN buffer was replaced with an AlGaN back-barrier that improved the breakdown characteristics at the cost of output power density. Thus, to scale up the output power density and further optimize the breakdown characteristics a Π-shaped gate was introduced to limit the gate leakage current through the InAlN barrier by virtue of its improved hot electron reliability. Coupled with the AlGaN back-barrier, the Π-gate significantly improved the breakdown characteristics to achieve high output power densities, albeit with minor trade-offs to the device gain. To elucidate the compatibility with high-power applications, all the device architectures were dynamically characterized by pulsed I–V simulations and the trap-related dispersive effects were investigated. The Π-shaped gate coupled with an AlGaN back-barrier outperforms conventional architectures by exercising superior electrostatic control over the channel and exhibiting a high linearity for high-power millimeter-wave applications.