Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress

doi:10.1007/s44275-025-00029-0

Moore and More ›› 2025, Vol. 1 ›› Issue (3): 290-299.DOI: 10.1007/s44275-025-00029-0

Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress

Linfei Gao^1,2,3, Xiaohua Li^1,3, Wei He^2,3, Xinbo Xiong^1,3, Huaibao Yan⁴, Hsien-Chin Chiu⁵, Zhanwu Yang⁶, Lixuan Chen⁷, Qiubao Lin⁸, Kaifeng Wang^1,3, Hezhou Liu^1,3, Xinke Liu^1,3

1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
2. College of Electronics and Information Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
3. Institute of Power Devices and Al Energy Monitoring Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
4. Jiangxi Yuhongjin Material Technology Co., Ltd., Fuzhou, Jiangxi, 344000, China;
5. Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, 333, China;
6. Red and Blue Microelectronic Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518063, China;
7. Unilumin Group Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518103, China;
8. School of Science, Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China

Received:2024-12-03 Revised:2025-01-11 Accepted:2025-01-18 Online:2025-11-29 Published:2025-06-24
Contact: Xinke Liu,E-mail:xkliu@szu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2024YFE0205100). This study was financially supported by the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (Grant No.2023B0303000012), Guangdong Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No.2022B1515020073), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No.JCYJ20220818102809020), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No.KCXST20221021111200001), and the Scientific Instrument Developing Project of Shenzhen University (Grant No.2024YQ003).

Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress

Linfei Gao^1,2,3, Xiaohua Li^1,3, Wei He^2,3, Xinbo Xiong^1,3, Huaibao Yan⁴, Hsien-Chin Chiu⁵, Zhanwu Yang⁶, Lixuan Chen⁷, Qiubao Lin⁸, Kaifeng Wang^1,3, Hezhou Liu^1,3, Xinke Liu^1,3

1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
2. College of Electronics and Information Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
3. Institute of Power Devices and Al Energy Monitoring Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China;
4. Jiangxi Yuhongjin Material Technology Co., Ltd., Fuzhou, Jiangxi, 344000, China;
5. Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, 333, China;
6. Red and Blue Microelectronic Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518063, China;
7. Unilumin Group Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518103, China;
8. School of Science, Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China

通讯作者: Xinke Liu,E-mail:xkliu@szu.edu.cn
作者简介:Linfei Gao received his B.S. from Shenyang Aerospace University in 2018. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at the State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, College of Electronics and Information Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China. His current research interests include wide bandgap semiconductors, RF heterogeneous integrated circuits interconnect and package, and microwave millimeterwave circuits.
Xiaohua Li obtained his B.Sc. in materials science and engineering at Northwest University in 1992. He was appointed as a senior engineer at China North Industries Group in 2001 and as an associate professor at Shenzhen University (SZU) in 2006. His research focuses on material and device failure analysis.
Wei He received his bachelor’s degree in communication engineering from Xiamen University in 2003 and a Ph.D. degree in microelectronics and solid electronics from the Shanghai Institute of Micro Systems and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008. He is currently an associate professor/research professor with Shenzhen University, China. He has authored or coauthored more than 30 journal and conference papers. His main research fields include new semiconductor device structure and large-scale integrated circuit design.
Xinbo Xiong received his bachelor’s degree in communication engineering from Xiamen University in 2003 and a Ph.D. degree in microelectronics and solid electronics from the Shanghai Institute of Micro Systems and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008. He is currently an associate professor/research professor with Shenzhen University, China. He has authored or coauthored more than 30 journal and conference papers. His main research fields include new semiconductor device structure and large-scale integrated circuit design.
Huaibao Yan is the CEO of Jiangxi Yuhongjin Material Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangxi, China.
Hsien-Chin Chiu was born in Taipei, Taiwan, China. He received B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from National Central University, Chungli, Taiwan, China, in 1998 and 2003, respectively. He joined WIN Semiconductors Corporation, Taoyuan, Taiwan, China, where he was involved in research and development of the 6-in GaAs pHEMTs and related integrated circuits. He was with the Department of Electronic Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, in 2004, where he is currently a professor. His current research interests include microwave integrated circuits, millimeter-wave integrated circuits, and GaAs and GaN field-effect transistor fabrication and modeling. Prof. Chiu is a member of Phi Tau Phi.
Zhanwu Yang is the CEO of Red and Blue Microelectronic Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China.
Lixuan Chen received his Ph.D. in microelectronics and solid-state electronics from Peking University. Currently, he is the leader of the central research institute of Unilumin Group in Shenzhen, China. His research interests include innovative LED displays and advanced display materials.
Qiubao Lin obtained a Ph.D. from the College of Physical Science and Technology at Xiamen University in China in 2008. As a visiting scholar, he studied and worked in the department of chemistry at Duke University in the USA. From 2005 to 2011, he worked as a deputy professor in the School of Science at Jimei University. Since 2011, he has been a professor in the School of Science at Jimei University in China. He also serves as the Vice Dean of the School of Science at Jimei University and serves as the president of the Institute of Semi-conductor Industrial Technology at Jimei University. His research focuses on the field of opto-electronics semiconductor material and device and has authored or coauthored publications in Entropy, Nano Research, Applied Surface Science, ACS photonics, Phys. Rev. B, Advanced Intelligent Systems, etc.
Kaifeng Wang obtained a Ph.D. degree from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China in 2021. He worked at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and City University of Hong Kong as a postdoctoral fellow in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Since 2024, he has been an assistant professor in the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Shenzhen University. His research focuses on the microstructure construction of carbonbased nanocomposites toward the enhancement of electromagnetic wave regulation and thermal management performance. He has authored or coauthored publications in Advanced Functional Materials, Chemical Engineering Journal, Carbon, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, etc.
Hezhou Liu obtained his B.Sc. in chemical engineering at Tsinghua University (THU) in 1988, and a master’s degree in chemical reaction engineering at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) in 1991, and a Ph.D. from SJTU in 2001. He was appointed as a distinguished professor at SJTU in 2014 and a distinguished professor at Shenzhen University (SZU) in 2024. His research focuses on functional polymer-based composites with high performance and energy materials. He has authored or coauthored publications in Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Chemical Engineering Journal, etc.
Xinke Liu (Senior Member, IEEE) received a B.Appl.Sc. degree (Hons.) in materials science in 2008 and a Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2013. He is currently an associate professor/ research professor with Shenzhen University (SZU), China. He has authored or coauthored more than 150 journal and conference papers, and applied for 99 patents with 33 granted ones. His research is related to novel material and devices. He was the recipient of the Year 2018 Excellent Research Award of SZU, Year 2018 Excellent Teaching Award of SZU, Year 2019 Chinese Academy of Sciences 100 Plan Scholar, Year 2022 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, Year 2022 Science and Technology Progress Award of China Electronics Society, Year 2022 Guangdong Distinguished Young Scholars, Year 2020, Year 2022, Year 2023 Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists, and Year 2023 Shenzhen Youth Science and Technology Award.
基金资助:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2024YFE0205100). This study was financially supported by the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (Grant No.2023B0303000012), Guangdong Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No.2022B1515020073), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No.JCYJ20220818102809020), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Grant No.KCXST20221021111200001), and the Scientific Instrument Developing Project of Shenzhen University (Grant No.2024YQ003).

Abstract

Abstract: In this article, we report the investigation into the stability of p-GaN gate high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with an internal integrated gate circuit that led to the design of a capacitance-based circuit to address threshold voltage shifts (ΔV_TH). Pulse I-V measurement revealed a notable positive gate V_TH shift of 0.7 V as the drain voltage increased from 0 to 650 V, highlighting the impact of drain bias on V_TH instability. Through the investigation of drain bias-induced V_TH instability and the behavior of carriers being transported within the gate region, it was found that the maximum ΔV_TH is 0.4 V when a 200-V drain bias is applied; after stress removal, ΔV_TH diminishes gradually due to the discharge of capacitance, and holes enter the p-GaN layer to mitigate the depletion of holes. The integration of passive components and p-GaN gate HEMT circuits is suggested to address V_TH instability in enhancement-mode HEMT devices. The reliability of power devices is essential for their acceptance in emerging applications.

Key words: P-GaN HEMT, Threshold voltage (V_TH), Mechanism, Pulse I-V

摘要： In this article, we report the investigation into the stability of p-GaN gate high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with an internal integrated gate circuit that led to the design of a capacitance-based circuit to address threshold voltage shifts (ΔV_TH). Pulse I-V measurement revealed a notable positive gate V_TH shift of 0.7 V as the drain voltage increased from 0 to 650 V, highlighting the impact of drain bias on V_TH instability. Through the investigation of drain bias-induced V_TH instability and the behavior of carriers being transported within the gate region, it was found that the maximum ΔV_TH is 0.4 V when a 200-V drain bias is applied; after stress removal, ΔV_TH diminishes gradually due to the discharge of capacitance, and holes enter the p-GaN layer to mitigate the depletion of holes. The integration of passive components and p-GaN gate HEMT circuits is suggested to address V_TH instability in enhancement-mode HEMT devices. The reliability of power devices is essential for their acceptance in emerging applications.

关键词: P-GaN HEMT, Threshold voltage (V_TH), Mechanism, Pulse I-V

Linfei Gao, Xiaohua Li, Wei He, Xinbo Xiong, Huaibao Yan, Hsien-Chin Chiu, Zhanwu Yang, Lixuan Chen, Qiubao Lin, Kaifeng Wang, Hezhou Liu, Xinke Liu. Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress[J]. Moore and More, 2025, 1(3): 290-299.

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Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress

Stability of p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs under static and dynamic drain stress

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