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Effects of γ-Ray Irradiation on AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures and High Electron Mobility Transistor Devices

  • International Electron Devices and Materials Symposium 2019
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Abstract

This study examined the effects of three cumulative γ-ray irradiation doses on AlGaN/GaN epilayer material and on high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices. After a cumulative γ-ray dose of 16 kGy, the Hall mobility increased from 1800 cm2/V s to 2100 cm2/V s, as determined through Hall measurement. Atomic force microscopy indicated an improvement in surface roughness but no change in the surface potential \( \left( {\emptyset_{\rm{s}} } \right) \). The HEMT device exhibited improvement in the drain current, with a subtle decreasing tendency in the leakage current. At high doses of γ-ray irradiation, the trends in the material and device parameters saturated. Moreover, the metal–semiconductor interface degraded, as confirmed through scanning electron microscopy image analysis.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the “Center for the Semiconductor Technology Research” from the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan. Also supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under Grant MOST- 109-2634-F-009-029 and in part by the Young Scholar Fellowship Program, under Grant MOST MOST-109-2636-E-009-005.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International College of Semiconductor Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Chandan Sharma & Tian-Li Wu

  2. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India

    Chandan Sharma & Rajendra Singh

  3. Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Der-Sheng Chao

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  1. Chandan Sharma
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  2. Rajendra Singh
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  3. Der-Sheng Chao
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  4. Tian-Li Wu
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Correspondence to Tian-Li Wu.

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Sharma, C., Singh, R., Chao, DS. et al. Effects of γ-Ray Irradiation on AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures and High Electron Mobility Transistor Devices. J. Electron. Mater. 49, 6789–6797 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08318-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08318-0

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