Physics-Informed Numerical Modeling and Performance Assessment of AlGaN/GaN/BGaN Double-Gate Dual-Channel High Electron Mobility Transistor Architectures
Downloads
Keywords
Article Usage Chart
Abstract
The continuous scaling of high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technologies based on wide-bandgap III–V semiconductors has enabled significant advancements in high-power, high-frequency, and high-temperature electronics. This study presents a physics-informed numerical modeling framework for analyzing the performance of AlGaN/GaN/BGaN double-gate dual-channel HEMT architectures. The proposed approach integrates semiconductor transport physics, polarization-induced charge formation, trapping phenomena, and mobility degradation models within a unified simulation environment. Special emphasis is placed on dual-channel conduction enhancement, electrostatic control improvement via double-gate engineering, and the role of BGaN buffer layers in mitigating leakage and improving thermal stability.
The modeling strategy is grounded in polarization theory governing two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formation (Ambacher et al., 2000), while incorporating advanced device-level effects such as current collapse (Mizutani et al., 2003), trapping dynamics (Mitrofanov and Manfra, 2004), and surface-state-induced dispersion (Doverspike et al., 1995). Furthermore, thermal and phonon transport effects influenced by piezoelectric coupling are considered in alignment with GaN nanostructure behavior (Zhu and Luo, 2016). The study employs a physics-informed numerical framework consistent with device simulation methodologies described by Selberherr (1984) and SILVACO ATLAS tools (2010).
Simulation results demonstrate that the double-gate dual-channel architecture significantly enhances drain current density, suppresses short-channel effects, and improves breakdown voltage compared to conventional single-channel HEMTs. The introduction of BGaN buffer layers further improves carrier confinement and reduces parasitic leakage pathways. The findings establish a robust foundation for next-generation GaN-based power and RF electronics optimized through physics-informed modeling.
Downloads
References
1. O. Ambacher et al., “Two dimensional electron gases induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization in undoped and doped AlGaN/GaN heterostructures,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 334–344, Jan. 2000
2. J. A. del Alamo and J. Joh, “GaN HEMT reliability,” Microelectronics Reliability, vol. 49, no. 9–11, pp. 1200–1206, Sep. 2009
3. S. C. Binari et al., “Trapping effects and microwave power performance in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 465–471, Mar. 2001
4. D. M. Caughey and R. E. Thomas, “Carrier mobilities in silicon empirically related to doping and field,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 2192–2193, 1967
5. D. A. Deen et al., “Suppression of surface-originated gate lag by a dual-channel AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistor architecture,” Applied Physics Letters, vol. 109, no. 6, Aug. 2016
6. K. Doverspike, S. C. Binari, and W. Kruppa, “Low-frequency dispersion characteristics of GaN HFETs,” Electronics Letters, vol. 31, no. 22, pp. 1951–1952, Oct. 1995
7. M. Gassoumi et al., “DC and RF characteristics optimization of AlGaN/GaN/BGaN/GaN/Si HEMT for microwave-power and high temperature application,” Results in Physics, vol. 12, pp. 302–306, Mar. 2019
8. S. Gautier et al., “Deep structural analysis of novel BGaN material layers grown by MOVPE,” Journal of Crystal Growth, vol. 315, no. 1, pp. 288–291, Jan. 2011
9. G. Greco, F. Iucolano, and F. Roccaforte, “Review of technology for normally-off HEMTs with p-GaN gate,” Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, vol. 78, pp. 96–106, May 2018
10. T.-C. Han, H.-D. Zhao, and X.-C. Peng, “Short-gate AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors with BGaN buffer,” Chinese Physics B, vol. 28, no. 4, Apr. 2019
11. F. Jabli et al., “Characterisation of the effect of surface passivation with SiO2/SiN on deep levels in AlGaN/GaN/Si HEMTs,” Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 653, pp. 624–628, Dec. 2015
12. J. I. Izpura, “Drain current collapse in GaN metal semiconductor field-effect transistors due to surface band-bending effects,” Semiconductor Science and Technology, vol. 17, no. 12, pp. 1293–1301, Dec. 2002
13. J. Joh, J. A. del Alamo, and J. Jimenez, “A simple current collapse measurement technique for GaN High-electron mobility transistors,” IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 665–667, Jul. 2008
14. M. A. Khan, J. N. Kuznia, M. S. Shur, and Q. C. Chen, “Current/voltage characteristic collapse in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure insulated gate field effect transistors at high drain bias,” Electronics Letters, vol. 30, no. 25, pp. 2175–2176, 1994
15. C.-H. Lee, W.-R. Lin, Y.-H. Lee, and J.-J. Huang, “Characterizations of enhancement-mode double heterostructure GaN HEMTs with gate field plates,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 488–492, Feb. 2018
16. Y. C. Lin et al., “Gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors with thick copper metallization featuring a power density of 8.2 W/mm for Ka-band applications,” Micromachines, vol. 11, no. 2, Feb. 2020
17. M. E. Levinshtein, S. L. Rumyantsev, and M. S. Shur, Properties of advanced semiconductor materials GaN, AlN, InN, BN, SiC, SiGe, Wiley, New York, 2001
18. K. Mazumdar, S. Kala, and A. Ghosal, “Nanocrack formation due to inverse piezoelectric effect in AlGaN/GaN HEMT,” Superlattices and Microstructures, vol. 125, pp. 120–124, Jan. 2019
19. T. Mizutani, Y. Ohno, M. Akita, S. Kishimoto, and K. Maezawa, “A study on current collapse in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs induced by bias stress,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 2015–2020, Oct. 2003
20. O. Mitrofanov and M. Manfra, “Poole-frenkel electron emission from the traps in AlGaN/GaN transistors,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 95, no. 11, pp. 6414–6419, Jun. 2004
21. H. Mosbahi et al., “Direct-current and radio-frequency characteristics of passivated AlGaN/GaN/Si high electron mobility transistors,” Current Applied Physics, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1359–1364, Sep. 2013
22. Ahmed M. Nahhas, “Review of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs based devices,” American Journal of Nanomaterials, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 10–21, 2019
23. N. Nepal et al., “Temperature and compositional dependence of the energy band gap of AlGaN alloys,” Applied Physics Letters, vol. 87, no. 24, Dec. 2005
24. G. Orsal et al., “Effect of boron incorporation on growth behavior of BGaN/GaN by MOVPE,” Journal of Crystal Growth, vol. 310, no. 23, pp. 5058–5062, Nov. 2008
25. A. Ougazzaden et al., “Bandgap bowing in BGaN thin films,” Applied Physics Letters, vol. 93, no. 8, Aug. 2008
26. Joachim Piprek, Semiconductor optoelectronic devices: introduction to physics and simulation, Academic Press, 2003
27. A. Said, M. Debbichi, and M. Said, “Theoretical study of electronic and optical properties of BN, GaN and BxGa1−xN in zinc blende and wurtzite structures,” Optik, vol. 127, no. 20, pp. 9212–9221, Oct. 2016
28. Siegfried Selberherr, Analysis and simulation of semiconductor devices, 1984
29. SILVACO, Atlas user’s manual device simulation software, 2010
30. J. M. Tirado, J. L. Sanchez-Rojas, and J. I. Izpura, “Trapping effects in the transient response of AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 410–417, Mar. 2007
31. I. Vurgaftman, J. R. Meyer, and L. R. Ram-Mohan, “Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 89, no. 11, pp. 5815–5875, Jun. 2001
32. Y. Wu, M. Jacob-Mitos, M. L. Moore, and S. Heikman, “A 97.8% efficient GaN HEMT boost converter with 300-W output power at 1 MHz,” IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 824–826, Aug. 2008
33. Y. Zhang et al., “High-performance AlGaN double channel HEMTs with improved drain current density and high breakdown voltage,” Nanoscale Research Letters, vol. 15, no. 1, Dec. 2020
34. L. Zhu and H. Luo, “On the role of piezoelectricity in phonon properties and thermal conductivity of GaN nanofilms,” Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 277–281, Nov. 2016