Degradation in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors upon electrical stress: Effects of field and temperature

AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFETs) with 2 μm gate length were subjected to on-state-high-field (high drain bias and drain current) and reverse-gate-bias (no drain current and reverse gate bias) stress at room and elevated temperatures for up to 10 h. The resulting degradation of the HFETs was studied by direct current and uniquely phase noise before and after stress. A series of drain and gate voltages was applied during the on-state-high-field and reverse-gate-bias stress conditions, respectively, to examine the effect of electric field on degradation of the HFET devices passivated with SiNx. The degradation behaviors under these two types of stress conditions were analyzed and compared. In order to isolate the effect of self-heating/temperature on device degradation, stress experiments were conducted at base plate temperatures up to 150 °C. It was found that the electric field induced by reverse-gate-bias mainly generated trap(s), most likely in the AlGaN barrier, which initially ...