Gate-recessed E-mode p-channel HFET with high on-current based on GaN/AlN 2D hole gas

TL;DR

This paper reports a significant advancement in wide-bandgap p-channel transistors using GaN/AlN heterostructures, achieving record on-current and modulation, and provides a compact model for future device integration.

Contribution

It introduces a GaN/AlN p-FET with high on-current and modulation, along with a compact analytical model for heterostructure optimization in wide-bandgap CMOS.

Findings

Achieved 10 mA/mm on-current in GaN/AlN p-FETs.

Realized four orders of magnitude on-off modulation.

Benchmarking clarifies heterostructure trade-offs for device design.

Abstract

High-performance p-channel transistors are crucial to implementing efficient complementary circuits in wide-bandgap electronics, but progress on such devices has lagged far behind their powerful electron-based counterparts due to the inherent challenges of manipulating holes in wide-gap semiconductors. Building on recent advances in materials growth, this work sets simultaneous records in both on-current (10 mA/mm) and on-off modulation (four orders) for the GaN/AlN wide-bandgap p-FET structure. A compact analytical pFET model is derived, and the results are benchmarked against the various alternatives in the literature, clarifying the heterostructure trade-offs to enable integrated wide-bandgap CMOS for next-generation compact high-power devices.