Impact of AlN buffer thickness on electrical and thermal characteristics of AlGaN/GaN/AlN HEMTs

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Kim, Minho, Tran, Dat Q., Paskov, Plamen P., Choi, U., Nam, O., Darakchieva, Vanya
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Kim, Minho
Tran, Dat Q.
Paskov, Plamen P.
Choi, U.
Nam, O.
Darakchieva, Vanya
author_facet Kim, Minho
Tran, Dat Q.
Paskov, Plamen P.
Choi, U.
Nam, O.
Darakchieva, Vanya
contents We investigate the influence of AlN buffer thickness on the structural, electrical, and thermal properties of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on semi-insulating SiC substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy reveal that while thin AlN layers (120 nm) exhibit compressive strain and smooth step-flow surfaces, thicker single-layer buffers (550 nm) develop tensile strain and increased surface roughness. Multi-layer buffer structures up to 2 μm alleviate strain and maintain surface integrity. Low-temperature Hall measurements confirm that electron mobility decreases with increasing interface roughness, with the highest mobility observed in the structure with a thin AlN buffer. Transient thermoreflectance measurements show that thermal conductivity (ThC) of the AlN buffer increases with the thickness, reaching 188 W/m.K at 300 K for the 2 μm buffer layer, which is approximately 60% of the bulk AlN ThC value. These results highlight the importance of optimizing AlN buffer design to balance strain relaxation, thermal management, and carrier transport for high-performance GaN-based HEMTs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_26244
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Impact of AlN buffer thickness on electrical and thermal characteristics of AlGaN/GaN/AlN HEMTs
Kim, Minho
Tran, Dat Q.
Paskov, Plamen P.
Choi, U.
Nam, O.
Darakchieva, Vanya
Materials Science
We investigate the influence of AlN buffer thickness on the structural, electrical, and thermal properties of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on semi-insulating SiC substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy reveal that while thin AlN layers (120 nm) exhibit compressive strain and smooth step-flow surfaces, thicker single-layer buffers (550 nm) develop tensile strain and increased surface roughness. Multi-layer buffer structures up to 2 μm alleviate strain and maintain surface integrity. Low-temperature Hall measurements confirm that electron mobility decreases with increasing interface roughness, with the highest mobility observed in the structure with a thin AlN buffer. Transient thermoreflectance measurements show that thermal conductivity (ThC) of the AlN buffer increases with the thickness, reaching 188 W/m.K at 300 K for the 2 μm buffer layer, which is approximately 60% of the bulk AlN ThC value. These results highlight the importance of optimizing AlN buffer design to balance strain relaxation, thermal management, and carrier transport for high-performance GaN-based HEMTs.
title Impact of AlN buffer thickness on electrical and thermal characteristics of AlGaN/GaN/AlN HEMTs
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.26244