Scaling and High-Frequency Performance of AlN/GaN HEMTs

TL;DR

This paper investigates the RF performance of AlN/GaN HEMTs with various gate lengths and widths, demonstrating high-frequency power capabilities and scalability for future high-frequency applications.

Contribution

It provides the first report of output power and efficiency at the high end of X-band for AlN/GaN HEMTs, showing their potential for further scaling.

Findings

Output power and efficiency at X-band are comparable to 2 GHz reports.

High-frequency performance is independent of gate length and width.

Results indicate potential for further device scaling.

Abstract

Small- and large-signal RF characteristics were measured on AlN GaN HEMTs with 80-160 nm gate length and 100-300 {\mu}m width. Consistent with the literature, current-gain cut-off frequency and maximum frequency of oscillation were found to increase with inverse gate length and independent of gate width. For the first time, output power and efficiency were reported at the high end of Xband, and were comparable to the best reported at 2 GHz and insensitive to gate length or width. These results suggest that the AlN/GaN HEMTs can be further scaled for even higher frequency and higher power performance.