Self heating Effects in GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor for Different Passivation Material

Abstract

In this paper effect of self-heating has been studied of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) for different passivation layers which is promising device for high power at high frequencies. The different passivation layers used are aluminium oxide (Al2O3), silicon nitride (SiN) and silicon dioxide (SiO2). The device GaN HEMT has been simulated and characterised for its thermal behaviour by the distribution of lattice temperature inside the device using device simulation tool ATLAS from SILVACO. The transfer and output characteristics with and without self-heating has been studied for electrical characterisation. The channel temperature for different passivation observed is 448 K, 456 K and 471 K forAl2O3, SiN and SiO2 respectively. The observed different temperatures are due to difference in their thermal conductivity. This channel temperature information is critical to study the reliability of the device at high power levels.