A gate current 1/<i>f</i> noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

Yu'an Liu; Yiqi Zhuang

doi:10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005

J. Semicond. > 2014, Volume 35 > Issue 12 > 124005

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

Yu'an Liu and Yiqi Zhuang

+ Author Affiliations

Corresponding author: Liu Yu'an, Email:danu0012004@163.com

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005

Abstract: This work presents a theoretical and experimental study on the gate current 1/f noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Based on the carrier number fluctuation in the two-dimensional electron gas channel of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, a gate current 1/f noise model containing a trap-assisted tunneling current and a space charge limited current is built. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment. Experiments show that, if V_g < V_x (critical gate voltage of dielectric relaxation), gate current 1/f noise comes from the superimposition of trap-assisted tunneling RTS (random telegraph noise), while V_g > V_x, gate current 1/f noise comes from not only the trap-assisted tunneling RTS, but also the space charge limited current RTS. This indicates that the gate current 1/f noise of the GaN-based HEMTs device is sensitive to the interaction of defects and the piezoelectric relaxation. It provides a useful characterization tool for deeper information about the defects and their evolution in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.

Key words: 1/f noise, gate leakage, AlGaN/GaN, HEMT

References

[1]	Asgari A, Karamad M, Kalafi M. Modeling of trap-assisted tunneling in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with different Al mole fractions. Superlattices and Microstructures, 2006, 40:603 doi: 10.1016/j.spmi.2006.07.023
[2]	Hasegawa H, Inagaki T, Ootomo S, et al. Mechanisms of current collapse and gate leakage currents in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors. J Vac Sci Technol B-Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, 2003, 21(4):1844 doi: 10.1116/1.1589520
[3]	Del Alamo J A, Joh J. GaN HEMT reliability. Microelectron Reliab, 2009, 49:1200 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2009.07.003
[4]	Tartarin J G. Diagnostic tools for accurate reliability investigations of GaN devices. 21st International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations, 2011:452
[5]	Rao H, Bosman G. Study of RF reliability of GaN HEMTs using low-frequency noise spectroscopy. IEEE Trans Device Mater Reliab, 2012, 12(1):31 doi: 10.1109/TDMR.2011.2173497
[6]	Marko P, Meneghini M, Bychikhin S, et al. Noise and electroluminescence analysis of stress-induced percolation paths in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Microelectron Reliab, 2012, 52:2194 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2012.06.030
[7]	Kotchetkov D, Balandin A A. Carrier-density fluctuation noise and the interface trap density in GaN/AlGaN HFETs. Mat Res Soc Symp Proc, 2001:680
[8]	Han I K, Lee J I. Low frequency noise in HEMT structure. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2001, 39:S322
[9]	Katz O, Bahir G, Salzman J. Low-frequency 1/f noise and persistent transients in AlGaN-GaN HFETs. IEEE Electron Device Lett, 2005, 26(6):345 doi: 10.1109/LED.2005.848092
[10]	Rao H, Bosman G. Simultaneous low-frequency noise characterization of gate and drain currents in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2009, 106:103712 doi: 10.1063/1.3259437
[11]	Rao H, Bosman G. Device reliability study of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors under high gate and channel electric fields via low frequency noise spectroscopy. Microelectron Reliab, 2010, 50:1528 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2010.07.073
[12]	Marko P, Alexewicz A, Hilt O, et al. Random telegraph signal noise in gate current of unstressed and reverse bias-stressed AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:143507 doi: 10.1063/1.3701164
[13]	Karboyan S, Tartarin J G, Labat N, et al. Gate and drain low frequency noise of ALGAN/GAN HEMTs featuring high and low gate leakage currents. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013:1
[14]	Rendek K, Satka A, Donoval D. Measurement set-up for low-frequency noise characterization of GaN HEMT transistors. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Radioelektronika, 2012:1
[15]	Satka A, Rendek K, Priesol J. Relaxation of low-frequency noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE Ninth International Conference on Advanced Semiconductor Devices & Microsystems (ASDAM), Smolenice, Slovakia, 2012:19
[16]	Kumar N, Kumar P, Kumar A. AlGaN/GaN HFET:operating principle and noise performance. International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, 2013, 2(4):86
[17]	Tartarin J G, Karboyan S, Carisetti D, et al. Gate defects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs revealed by low frequency noise measurements. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[18]	Xu W, Bosman G. Space charge limited current noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[19]	Xu W, Rao H, Bosman G. Evidence of space charge limited flow in the gate current of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:223504 doi: 10.1063/1.4724207
[20]	Sudharsanan S, Karmalkar S. Modeling of the reverse gate leakage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2010, 107:064501 doi: 10.1063/1.3340826
[21]	Crupi F, Magnone P, Simoen E, et al. The role of the interfaces in the 1/f noise of MOSFETs with high-k gate stacks. ECS Trans, 2009, 19(2):87
[22]	Hasegawa H, Akazawa M. Current transport, Fermi level pinning, and transient behavior of group-Ⅲ nitride Schottky barriers. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2009, 55(3):1167
[23]	Vitusevich S A, Danylyuk S V, Kurakin A M. Origin of noise in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures in the range of 10-100 MHz. J Appl Phys, 2006, 99:0737061

Fig. 1. (a) Cross section of an AlGaN/GaN HEMT, where the virtual gate effect leads to the depletion extended, meanwhile, the interaction between the space charge and piezoelectric dipole charge will result in the gate current 1/$f$ noise. (b) Corresponding energy band diagram of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT, where $E_{\rm c}$ is conduction band energy level of GaN. $V_{\rm g}$ is the bias on the gate relative to the source. $E_{\rm F1}$ and $E_{\rm F2}$ is Fermi level correspondence to $V_{\rm g}$ $ < $ 0 and $V_{\rm g}$ $>$ 0, respectively. $\mathit{\Phi} _{\rm t}$ is the difference in potential between the AlGaN conduction band and the traps. $\mathit{\Phi} _{\rm b}$ is the Schottky barrier height, equal to the amount of energy by which the bottom of the conduction band discontinuity $\Delta \Phi _{\rm c}$ is above the Fermi energy, where the $x_{\rm m}$ is the thickness of the AlGaN layer. $\Delta E_{\rm a}$ is the activation energy associated with the surface trap-to-trap current conduction. The two arrows denote the two gate current paths, respectively.

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Fig. 2. Device structure and the movement of the stress produced carriers, where SGD represents the device's source drain and gate, respectively.

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Fig. 3. Measured gate-drain current as a function of the magnitude of the gate voltage.

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Fig. 4. The gate current 1/$f$ noise of an AlGaN/GaN HEMTs device under different biases.

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[1]	Asgari A, Karamad M, Kalafi M. Modeling of trap-assisted tunneling in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with different Al mole fractions. Superlattices and Microstructures, 2006, 40:603 doi: 10.1016/j.spmi.2006.07.023
[2]	Hasegawa H, Inagaki T, Ootomo S, et al. Mechanisms of current collapse and gate leakage currents in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors. J Vac Sci Technol B-Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, 2003, 21(4):1844 doi: 10.1116/1.1589520
[3]	Del Alamo J A, Joh J. GaN HEMT reliability. Microelectron Reliab, 2009, 49:1200 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2009.07.003
[4]	Tartarin J G. Diagnostic tools for accurate reliability investigations of GaN devices. 21st International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations, 2011:452
[5]	Rao H, Bosman G. Study of RF reliability of GaN HEMTs using low-frequency noise spectroscopy. IEEE Trans Device Mater Reliab, 2012, 12(1):31 doi: 10.1109/TDMR.2011.2173497
[6]	Marko P, Meneghini M, Bychikhin S, et al. Noise and electroluminescence analysis of stress-induced percolation paths in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Microelectron Reliab, 2012, 52:2194 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2012.06.030
[7]	Kotchetkov D, Balandin A A. Carrier-density fluctuation noise and the interface trap density in GaN/AlGaN HFETs. Mat Res Soc Symp Proc, 2001:680
[8]	Han I K, Lee J I. Low frequency noise in HEMT structure. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2001, 39:S322
[9]	Katz O, Bahir G, Salzman J. Low-frequency 1/f noise and persistent transients in AlGaN-GaN HFETs. IEEE Electron Device Lett, 2005, 26(6):345 doi: 10.1109/LED.2005.848092
[10]	Rao H, Bosman G. Simultaneous low-frequency noise characterization of gate and drain currents in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2009, 106:103712 doi: 10.1063/1.3259437
[11]	Rao H, Bosman G. Device reliability study of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors under high gate and channel electric fields via low frequency noise spectroscopy. Microelectron Reliab, 2010, 50:1528 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2010.07.073
[12]	Marko P, Alexewicz A, Hilt O, et al. Random telegraph signal noise in gate current of unstressed and reverse bias-stressed AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:143507 doi: 10.1063/1.3701164
[13]	Karboyan S, Tartarin J G, Labat N, et al. Gate and drain low frequency noise of ALGAN/GAN HEMTs featuring high and low gate leakage currents. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013:1
[14]	Rendek K, Satka A, Donoval D. Measurement set-up for low-frequency noise characterization of GaN HEMT transistors. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Radioelektronika, 2012:1
[15]	Satka A, Rendek K, Priesol J. Relaxation of low-frequency noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE Ninth International Conference on Advanced Semiconductor Devices & Microsystems (ASDAM), Smolenice, Slovakia, 2012:19
[16]	Kumar N, Kumar P, Kumar A. AlGaN/GaN HFET:operating principle and noise performance. International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, 2013, 2(4):86
[17]	Tartarin J G, Karboyan S, Carisetti D, et al. Gate defects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs revealed by low frequency noise measurements. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[18]	Xu W, Bosman G. Space charge limited current noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[19]	Xu W, Rao H, Bosman G. Evidence of space charge limited flow in the gate current of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:223504 doi: 10.1063/1.4724207
[20]	Sudharsanan S, Karmalkar S. Modeling of the reverse gate leakage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2010, 107:064501 doi: 10.1063/1.3340826
[21]	Crupi F, Magnone P, Simoen E, et al. The role of the interfaces in the 1/f noise of MOSFETs with high-k gate stacks. ECS Trans, 2009, 19(2):87
[22]	Hasegawa H, Akazawa M. Current transport, Fermi level pinning, and transient behavior of group-Ⅲ nitride Schottky barriers. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2009, 55(3):1167
[23]	Vitusevich S A, Danylyuk S V, Kurakin A M. Origin of noise in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures in the range of 10-100 MHz. J Appl Phys, 2006, 99:0737061

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Received: 21 May 2014 Revised: 14 July 2014 Online: Published: 01 December 2014

Article Navigation > Journal of Semiconductors > 2014 > 35(12): 124005

Yu'an Liu, Yiqi Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005 ****Y A Liu, Y Q Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. J. Semicond., 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005.

Citation:

Yu'an Liu, Yiqi Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005 ****

Y A Liu, Y Q Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. J. Semicond., 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005.

Citation:

Yu'an Liu, Yiqi Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005 ****

Y A Liu, Y Q Zhuang. A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs[J]. J. Semicond., 2014, 35(12): 124005. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005.

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A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/12/124005

School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, China

More Information

Corresponding author: Liu Yu'an, Email:danu0012004@163.com
Received Date: 2014-05-21
Revised Date: 2014-07-14
Published Date: 2014-12-01

Abstract

Abstract

This work presents a theoretical and experimental study on the gate current 1/f noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Based on the carrier number fluctuation in the two-dimensional electron gas channel of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, a gate current 1/f noise model containing a trap-assisted tunneling current and a space charge limited current is built. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment. Experiments show that, if V_g < V_x (critical gate voltage of dielectric relaxation), gate current 1/f noise comes from the superimposition of trap-assisted tunneling RTS (random telegraph noise), while V_g > V_x, gate current 1/f noise comes from not only the trap-assisted tunneling RTS, but also the space charge limited current RTS. This indicates that the gate current 1/f noise of the GaN-based HEMTs device is sensitive to the interaction of defects and the piezoelectric relaxation. It provides a useful characterization tool for deeper information about the defects and their evolution in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.
- 1/f noise,
- gate leakage,
- AlGaN/GaN,
- HEMT

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References(23)

References

[1]	Asgari A, Karamad M, Kalafi M. Modeling of trap-assisted tunneling in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with different Al mole fractions. Superlattices and Microstructures, 2006, 40:603 doi: 10.1016/j.spmi.2006.07.023
[2]	Hasegawa H, Inagaki T, Ootomo S, et al. Mechanisms of current collapse and gate leakage currents in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors. J Vac Sci Technol B-Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, 2003, 21(4):1844 doi: 10.1116/1.1589520
[3]	Del Alamo J A, Joh J. GaN HEMT reliability. Microelectron Reliab, 2009, 49:1200 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2009.07.003
[4]	Tartarin J G. Diagnostic tools for accurate reliability investigations of GaN devices. 21st International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations, 2011:452
[5]	Rao H, Bosman G. Study of RF reliability of GaN HEMTs using low-frequency noise spectroscopy. IEEE Trans Device Mater Reliab, 2012, 12(1):31 doi: 10.1109/TDMR.2011.2173497
[6]	Marko P, Meneghini M, Bychikhin S, et al. Noise and electroluminescence analysis of stress-induced percolation paths in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Microelectron Reliab, 2012, 52:2194 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2012.06.030
[7]	Kotchetkov D, Balandin A A. Carrier-density fluctuation noise and the interface trap density in GaN/AlGaN HFETs. Mat Res Soc Symp Proc, 2001:680
[8]	Han I K, Lee J I. Low frequency noise in HEMT structure. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2001, 39:S322
[9]	Katz O, Bahir G, Salzman J. Low-frequency 1/f noise and persistent transients in AlGaN-GaN HFETs. IEEE Electron Device Lett, 2005, 26(6):345 doi: 10.1109/LED.2005.848092
[10]	Rao H, Bosman G. Simultaneous low-frequency noise characterization of gate and drain currents in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2009, 106:103712 doi: 10.1063/1.3259437
[11]	Rao H, Bosman G. Device reliability study of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors under high gate and channel electric fields via low frequency noise spectroscopy. Microelectron Reliab, 2010, 50:1528 doi: 10.1016/j.microrel.2010.07.073
[12]	Marko P, Alexewicz A, Hilt O, et al. Random telegraph signal noise in gate current of unstressed and reverse bias-stressed AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:143507 doi: 10.1063/1.3701164
[13]	Karboyan S, Tartarin J G, Labat N, et al. Gate and drain low frequency noise of ALGAN/GAN HEMTs featuring high and low gate leakage currents. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013:1
[14]	Rendek K, Satka A, Donoval D. Measurement set-up for low-frequency noise characterization of GaN HEMT transistors. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Radioelektronika, 2012:1
[15]	Satka A, Rendek K, Priesol J. Relaxation of low-frequency noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE Ninth International Conference on Advanced Semiconductor Devices & Microsystems (ASDAM), Smolenice, Slovakia, 2012:19
[16]	Kumar N, Kumar P, Kumar A. AlGaN/GaN HFET:operating principle and noise performance. International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, 2013, 2(4):86
[17]	Tartarin J G, Karboyan S, Carisetti D, et al. Gate defects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs revealed by low frequency noise measurements. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[18]	Xu W, Bosman G. Space charge limited current noise in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. IEEE 22nd International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (ICNF), 2013
[19]	Xu W, Rao H, Bosman G. Evidence of space charge limited flow in the gate current of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Appl Phys Lett, 2012, 100:223504 doi: 10.1063/1.4724207
[20]	Sudharsanan S, Karmalkar S. Modeling of the reverse gate leakage in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. J Appl Phys, 2010, 107:064501 doi: 10.1063/1.3340826
[21]	Crupi F, Magnone P, Simoen E, et al. The role of the interfaces in the 1/f noise of MOSFETs with high-k gate stacks. ECS Trans, 2009, 19(2):87
[22]	Hasegawa H, Akazawa M. Current transport, Fermi level pinning, and transient behavior of group-Ⅲ nitride Schottky barriers. Journal of the Korean Physical Society, 2009, 55(3):1167
[23]	Vitusevich S A, Danylyuk S V, Kurakin A M. Origin of noise in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures in the range of 10-100 MHz. J Appl Phys, 2006, 99:0737061

A gate current 1/f noise model for GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

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