Epitaxial high-K AlBN barrier GaN HEMTs

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the development of high-performance GaN HEMTs using an epitaxial AlBN barrier that induces a 2D electron gas, resulting in improved electrical characteristics and higher dielectric constant, promising enhanced device performance.

Contribution

Introduction of epitaxial AlBN as a high-K barrier material for GaN HEMTs, enabling better device performance and higher dielectric constant compared to traditional barriers.

Findings

Achieved current densities over 0.25 A/mm in AlBN/GaN HEMTs.

Demonstrated a low pinch-off voltage of -0.43 V.

Epitaxial AlBN exhibits a dielectric constant of 16 with 7% B incorporation.

Abstract

We report a polarization-induced 2D electron gas (2DEG) at an epitaxial AlBN/GaN heterojunction grown on a SiC substrate. Using this 2DEG in a long conducting channel, we realize ultra-thin barrier AlBN/GaN high electron mobility transistors that exhibit current densities of more than 0.25 A/mm, clean current saturation, a low pinch-off voltage of -0.43 V, and a peak transconductance of 0.14 S/mm. Transistor performance in this preliminary realization is limited by the contact resistance. Capacitance-voltage measurements reveal that introducing 7 % B in the epitaxial AlBN barrier on GaN boosts the relative dielectric constant of AlBN to 16, higher than the AlN dielectric constant of 9. Epitaxial high-K barrier AlBN/GaN HEMTs can thus extend performance beyond the capabilities of current GaN transistors.