A comprehensive model and numerical analysis of electron mobility in GaN-based high electron mobility transistors
I. Berdalović, Mirko Poljak, Tomislav Suligoj
Abstract
GaN-based heterostructures have been used in high-power radio frequency applications for a number of years due to the wide bandgap of GaN and high values of spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization, resulting in high breakdown voltages and high 2D carrier concentrations. However, the accurate modeling of low-field electron mobility within such structures remains a topic of interest. This paper presents a comprehensive numerical model for calculating the carrier mobility within a 2D electron gas in AlxGa1−xN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. The model is based on solving the Schrödinger and Poisson equations self-consistently, taking into account the polarization charges at material interfaces and performing semi-classical numerical calculations of low-field electron mobility within the momentum relaxation time approximation, taking into account all relevant scattering mechanisms. Both intra- and inter-subband transitions are considered, and the differences in intra- and inter-subband scattering rates are analyzed for some of the key scattering mechanisms. The importance of including inter-subband transitions in the calculations is demonstrated by comparing the calculated results with experimentally measured mobilities.