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Observation of ballistic-diffusive thermal transport in GaN transistors using thermoreflectance thermal imaging

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To develop effective thermal management strategies for gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors, it is essential to accurately predict the device junction temperature. Since the width of the heat generation in the devices is comparable to phonon mean free paths (MFPs) of GaN, phonon ballistic transport exists and can significantly affect the heat transport process, which necessitates a thorough understanding of the influence of the phonon ballistic effects in GaN transistors. In this study, the ballistic-diffusive phonon transport in GaN-on-SiC devices is examined by measuring the hotspot temperature using the thermoreflectance thermal imaging (TTI) combined with the hybrid phonon Monte Carlo-diffusion simulations. A series of Au heaters are fabricated on the top of the GaN layer to quantitatively mimic the different heat source distributions during device operation. The experimental and simulation results show a good consistency and both indicate that the phonon ballistic effects can significantly increase the hotspot temperature. With the size of the heat source decreasing, the errors of Fourier’s law-based predictions increase, which emphasizes the necessity to carefully consider the phonon ballistic transport in device thermal simulations.

Graphical abstract

摘要

准确地预测电子器件结温对发展氮化镓 (GaN) 晶体管的热管理策略至关重要。由于器件中的热源尺寸与GaN的声子平均自由程 (MFP) 相当, 因此存在声子弹道输运现象, 并会显著影响热传输过程, 迫切需要深入了解声子弹道效应的影响。本文使用反射热成像 (TTI) 实验结合声子蒙特卡罗-傅里叶定律耦合模拟来研究热点温度和GaN-SiC器件中的弹道-扩散热输运。在GaN层顶部制备了一组Au加热线, 以定量地模拟器件运行时的不同热源分布。实验和模拟结果显示出良好的一致性, 都表明声子弹道效应会显著增大热点温度; 随着热源尺寸的减小, 基于傅里叶定律的预测偏差增加。研究结果表明了在电子器件热模拟中考虑声子弹道传输的必要性。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52327809, 51825601 and U20A20301).

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  1. Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Zhi-Ke Liu, Yang Shen, Han-Ling Li & Bing-Yang Cao

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Liu, ZK., Shen, Y., Li, HL. et al. Observation of ballistic-diffusive thermal transport in GaN transistors using thermoreflectance thermal imaging. Rare Met. 43, 389–394 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-023-02355-4

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