AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Electronic Materials and Photonics Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session EM+2D+SS-WeA

Paper EM+2D+SS-WeA9
Effects of Proton Irradiation Energy on SiNx/AlGaN/GaN Metal-insulator-semiconductor High Electron Mobility Transistors

Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 5:00 pm, Room 101A

Session: Wide and Ultra-Wide Bandgap Materials for Electronic Devices: Growth, Modeling and Properties
Presenter: Chaker Fares, University of Florida
Authors: C. Fares, University of Florida
F.R. Ren, University of Florida
J.H. Kim, Korea University, Republic of Korea
S.J. Pearton, University of Florida
C.F. Lo, IQE
J.W. Johnson, IQE
G.S. Yang, Korea University, Republic of Korea
Correspondent: Click to Email
The effects of proton irradiation energy ranging from 5 to 15 MeV on the electrical properties of SiNx/AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MISHEMTs) using in-situ grown silicon nitride as the gate dielectric were studied. In applications such as satellite-based communication, remote sensing, radar technology, and nuclear energy production, microelectronics that are resistant to radiation must be utilized. Of the many materials and device architectures previously investigated, AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) show significant potential for environments where radiation hardness, elevated temperature, and high-power operation are required. Although several studies have been performed to analyze how HEMTs respond to irradiation damage, data on the effects of proton irradiation energy on MISHEMTs are scarce. In this study, AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT samples were irradiated at various proton irradiation energies at a fixed dose of 2.5 × 1014 cm -2 to determine the effects on device performance. After proton irradiation, all devices were functional and showed minimal degradation compared to previous reports of HEMTs irradiated at similar conditions.The dc saturation current was reduced by 10.4, 3.2 and 0.5% for MISHEMTs irradiated with proton energies of 5, 10, and 15 MeV, respectively. Device performance degradations were more pronounced in the irradiated samples under high-frequency operation. At a frequency of 100 KHz, the saturation drain current reduction at a gate voltage of 3 V was 40%, 19% and 17% after proton irradiation at 5, 10, and 15 MeV, respectively. At higher duty cycles, the drain current reduction is less severe. The results of this study demonstrated the device reliability of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMTs in environments where a resilience to radiation is required.