학술논문

Investigation of Threshold Voltage and Drain Current Degradations in Si3N4/AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs Under X-Ray Irradiation
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices IEEE Trans. Electron Devices Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on. 70(5):2216-2221 May, 2023
Subject
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
HEMTs
MODFETs
Radiation effects
Degradation
Silicon
Wide band gap semiconductors
Aluminum gallium nitride
High electron mobility transistors (HEMTs)
Si3N4 layer
X-ray irradiation
Language
ISSN
0018-9383
1557-9646
Abstract
In this study, X-ray irradiation of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is performed. After the X-ray irradiation, the threshold voltage ( ${V}_{\text {th}}{)}$ shift and ON-state current ( ${I}_{\text {on}}{)}$ variation are observed. However, after a recovery period, the degradation trend of ${V}_{\text {th}}$ and that of ${I}_{\text {on}}$ are in opposite directions. Such opposite degradations are demonstrated and explained in this study. As X-rays irradiate the devices, holes, and defects are generated in the GaN layer and Si3N4 layer, respectively. To prove the degradation mechanism induced by X-rays in MIS HEMT, the following characteristics are offered. The drain current ( ${I}_{d}{)}$ and the source current ( ${I}_{s}{)}$ under the X-ray irradiation are introduced to prove the hole generation. The two-step degradation of the gate current ( ${I}_{g}{)}$ after X-ray irradiation provides evidence of the formation of defect states. Moreover, the different degradation behaviors between Schottky-gate HEMT and MIS HEMT are compared and verification of the position of generation of defect states in the Si3N4 layer is given accordingly.