First RF Power Operation of AlN/GaN/AlN HEMTs With >3 A/mm and 3 W/mm at 10 GHz

Austin Hickman, Reet Chaudhuri, Lei Li, Kazuki Nomoto, Samuel James Bader, James C. M. Hwang, Huili Grace Xing, Debdeep Jena

2020IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society93 citationsDOI Open Access PDF

Abstract

The AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructure is attractive for microwave and millimeter-wave power devices due to its thin top barrier, tight carrier confinement, and improved breakdown voltage. This work explores the large-signal RF performance of high-electron-mobility transistors on this heterostructure. Results are highlighted by record high on-current of 3.6 A/mm, and record maximum oscillation frequency (f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">max</sub> ) of 233 GHz. The load-pull power sweep at 10 GHz demonstrate a peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 22.7% with an associated gain (GT) of 8.7 dB and output power (Pout) of 3 W/mm. When optimized for power, the peak Pout of 3.3 W/mm has an associated PAE of 14.7% and GT of 3.2 dB. This first demonstration is encouraging for the mm-wave power potential of the AlN/GaN/AlN HEMT.

Topics & Concepts

Materials scienceHigh-electron-mobility transistorOptoelectronicsMicrowaveGallium nitrideHeterojunctionTransistorExtremely high frequencyBreakdown voltagePower (physics)Electrical engineeringRadio frequencyWide-bandgap semiconductorVoltagePhysicsTelecommunicationsNanotechnologyEngineeringOpticsQuantum mechanicsLayer (electronics)GaN-based semiconductor devices and materialsRadio Frequency Integrated Circuit DesignAcoustic Wave Resonator Technologies

First RF Power Operation of AlN/GaN/AlN HEMTs With &gt;3 A/mm and 3 W/mm at 10 GHz

Abstract

Topics & Concepts

First RF Power Operation of AlN/GaN/AlN HEMTs With >3 A/mm and 3 W/mm at 10 GHz