Low off-state Leakage Currents in AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors By Employing A Highly Stressed SiNx Surface Passivation Layer

Cho, S.-J., Li, X. , Floros, K., Hamakumara, D., Ignatova, O. , Moran, D. , Humphreys, C.J. and Thayne, I. (2016) Low off-state Leakage Currents in AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors By Employing A Highly Stressed SiNx Surface Passivation Layer. 19th Workshop on Dielectrics in Microelectronics (WoDIM), Aci Castello, Catania, Italy, 27-30 Jun 2016.

Abstract

In this study, the impact of the stress in SiNx surface passivation layers on off-state drain and gate leakage currents and off-state breakdown voltage in AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) is assessed. The SiNx films were deposited at room temperature by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapour deposition (ICP-CVD). Compared to unpassivated devices, the off-state drain and gate leakage currents of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is increased by up to 2 orders of magnitude for a 200 nm thick SiNx passivation layer with 309 MPa compressive stress. The use of a bilayer SiNx passivation scheme comprising 70 nm SiNx with 309 MPa compressive stress followed by 130 nm SiNx with 880 MPa compressive stress resulted in off-state drain and gate leakage currents reduced by up to 1 order of magnitude when compared to unpassivated devices.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Thayne, Prof Iain and Moran, Professor David and Li, Dr Xu and Cho, Dr Sung-Jin and Ignatova, Dr Olesya
• Authors: Cho, S.-J., Li, X., Floros, K., Hamakumara, D., Ignatova, O., Moran, D., Humphreys, C.J., and Thayne, I.
• Subjects: T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 American Vacuum Society
• First Published: First published in 19th Workshop on Dielectrics in Microelectronics (WoDIM) 2016
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
60076	1	Silicon Compatible GaN Power Electronics	Iain Thayne	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/K014471/1	ENG - ENGINEERING ELECTRONICS & NANO ENG