ffect of Silicon Nitride and Silicon Dioxide Passivation Films on the Performance of Off-State Field-Plated AlGaN/GaN HEMT

The effect of Si3N4 and SiO2 passivation films on the off-state breakdown performance of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistor with a source- or gate-connected field plate was investigated using TCAD simulations. It was discovered that the breakdown voltage of the field-plated device structure passivated by SiO2 is noticeably higher compared to Si3N4, which contrasts with the results usually observed for transistors without field plates. It was also determined that the intrinsic stress in Si3N4 passivation films of certain thickness (250–300 nm) exerts a significant influence on the breakdown characteristics, with tensile-stressed layers allowing to increase the breakdown voltage. Finally, the device structure with a combined Si3N4/SiO2 passivation stack and a gate field plate was analyzed.

1. Wang Y., Ding Y., Yin Y. (2022) Reliability of Wide Band Gap Power Electronic Semiconductor and Packaging: A Review. Energies. 15 (18). https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186670.

2. Mendes J. C., Liehr M., Li C. (2022) Diamond/GaN HEMTs: Where from and Where to? Materials. 15 (2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15020415.

3. Tang Y., Shinohara K., Regan D., Corrion A., Brown D., Wong J. (2015) Ultra-High-Speed GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors with fT/fmax of 454/444 GHz. IEEE Electron Device Letters. 36 (6), 549–551. https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2015.2421311.

4. Chu J., Wang Q., Jiang L., Feng C., Li W., Liu H., et al. (2021) Room Temperature 2DEG Mobility Above 2350 cm2 /(V·s) in AlGaN/GaN HEMT Grown on GaN Substrate. Journal of Electronic Materials. 50 (5), 2630–2636. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-021-08778-y.

5. Iwamoto T., Akiyama S., Horio K. (2021) Passivation-Layer Thickness and Field-Plate Optimization to Obtain High Breakdown Voltage in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with Short Gate-to-Drain Distance. Microelectronics Reliability. 121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2021.114153.

6. Farahmand M., Movaz M., Garetto C., Bellotti E., Brennan K. F., Goano M., et al. (2001) Monte Carlo Simulation of Electron Transport in the III-Nitride Wurtzite Phase Materials System: Binaries and Ternaries. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices. 48 (3), 535–542. https://doi.org/10.1109/16.906448.

7. Selberherr S. (1984) Analysis and Simulation of Semiconductor Devices. Germany, Springer-Verlag Publ.

8. Hanawa H., Onodera H., Nakajima A., Horio K. (2014) Numerical Analysis of Breakdown Voltage Enhancement in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with a High-k Passivation Layer. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices. 61 (3), 769–775. https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2014.2298194.

9. Palankovski V., Quay R. (2004) Analysis and Simulation of Heterostructure Devices. Wien-NY, Springer-Verlag Publ.

10. Ha M.-W., Lee S.-C., Park J.-H., Her J.-C., Seo K.-S., Han M.-K. (2006) Silicon Dioxide Passivation of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for High Breakdown Voltage. 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and IC’s. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISPSD.2006.1666098.

11. Cho S.-J., Wang C., Kim H.-Y. (2012) Effects of Double Passivation for Optimize DC Properties in Gamma-Gate AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition. Thin Solid Films. 520 (13), 4455–4458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2012.02.055.

12. Jeon C. M., Lee J.-L. (2005) Effects of Tensile Stress Induced by Silicon Nitride Passivation on Electrical Characteristics of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors. Applied Physics Letters. 86 (17). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1906328.

13. Onodera H., Hanawa H., Horio K. (2014) Analysis of Breakdown Characteristics in Gate and Source FieldPlate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Technical Proceedings of the 2014 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2014. 2, 499–502. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssc.201510155.

14. Huang Z., Duan J., Li M., Ma Y., Jiang H. (2024) Effect of SiO2 Layer Thickness on SiO2/Si3N4 Multilayered Thin Films. Coatings. 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14070881.