Optimal III-nitride HEMTs: from materials and device design to compact model of the 2DEG charge density

Kexin Li; Shaloo Rakheja

doi:10.1117/12.2251582

16 February 2017 Optimal III-nitride HEMTs: from materials and device design to compact model of the 2DEG charge density

Kexin Li, Shaloo Rakheja

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10104, Gallium Nitride Materials and Devices XII; 1010418 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2251582
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a physically motivated compact model of the charge-voltage (Q-V) characteristics in various III-nitride high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) operating under highly non-equilibrium transport conditions, i.e. high drain-source current. By solving the coupled Schrödinger-Poisson equation and incorporating the two-dimensional electrostatics in the channel, we obtain the charge at the top-of-the-barrier for various applied terminal voltages. The Q-V model accounts for cutting off of the negative momenta states from the drain terminal under high drain-source bias and when the transmission in the channel is quasi-ballistic. We specifically focus on AlGaN and AlInN as barrier materials and InGaN and GaN as the channel material in the heterostructure. The Q-V model is verified and calibrated against numerical results using the commercial TCAD simulator Sentaurus from Synopsys for a 20-nm channel length III-nitride HEMT. With 10 fitting parameters, most of which have a physical origin and can easily be obtained from numerical or experimental calibration, the compact Q-V model allows us to study the limits and opportunities of III-nitride technology. We also identify optimal material and geometrical parameters of the device that maximize the carrier concentration in the HEMT channel in order to achieve superior RF performance. Additionally, the compact charge model can be easily integrated in a hierarchical circuit simulator, such as Keysight ADS and CADENCE, to facilitate circuit design and optimization of various technology parameters.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Kexin Li and Shaloo Rakheja "Optimal III-nitride HEMTs: from materials and device design to compact model of the 2DEG charge density", Proc. SPIE 10104, Gallium Nitride Materials and Devices XII, 1010418 (16 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2251582

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