Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications
In this study, AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMTs) with a small gate length were fabricated using a stepper. Additionally, a novel gate fabrication process was conducted to shrink the gate head, thus reducing the parasitic capacitance of the device to achieve high-power amplifier per...
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| Format: | Article |
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062583/ |
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| author | Neng-Da Li Yueh-Chin Lin Kai-Wen Chen Heng-Tung Hsu Yi-Fan Tsao Edward Yi Chang |
| author_facet | Neng-Da Li Yueh-Chin Lin Kai-Wen Chen Heng-Tung Hsu Yi-Fan Tsao Edward Yi Chang |
| author_sort | Neng-Da Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMTs) with a small gate length were fabricated using a stepper. Additionally, a novel gate fabrication process was conducted to shrink the gate head, thus reducing the parasitic capacitance of the device to achieve high-power amplifier performance. The device performance in the research demonstrated a steady-state current density (Idss) of 975 mA/mm and a maximum transconductance (gm) of 369 mS/mm at a 20 V bias. Moreover, the cut-off frequency (fT) reached 50.6 GHz, and the maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) achieved 161 GHz as measured by S-parameter measurement. In the load-pull system, the frequency operation is under 28 GHz. For the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\times 50~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m device at a drain bias of 20 V, it exhibits a maximum output power density (Pout) of 2.83 W/mm with a maximum 24.97% power-added efficiency (PAE). Additionally, for the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times 50~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m device at a drain bias of 32V, it achieves a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm { P_{out}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 1.27 W (3.18 W/mm). This work demonstrates that the novel gate fabrication process of shrinking gate head by using <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm { SiN_{x}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> shield achieves high-frequency and high-output power characteristics for Ka-band application. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-883a457b28cd44868930b20e01755ee2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2168-6734 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-883a457b28cd44868930b20e01755ee22025-08-20T03:56:05ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society2168-67342025-01-011359359810.1109/JEDS.2025.358480911062583Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band ApplicationsNeng-Da Li0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1590-2714Yueh-Chin Lin1Kai-Wen Chen2Heng-Tung Hsu3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7753-5690Yi-Fan Tsao4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6601-8308Edward Yi Chang5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1616-5240Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanInternational College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanInternational College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanInternational College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, TaiwanIn this study, AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMTs) with a small gate length were fabricated using a stepper. Additionally, a novel gate fabrication process was conducted to shrink the gate head, thus reducing the parasitic capacitance of the device to achieve high-power amplifier performance. The device performance in the research demonstrated a steady-state current density (Idss) of 975 mA/mm and a maximum transconductance (gm) of 369 mS/mm at a 20 V bias. Moreover, the cut-off frequency (fT) reached 50.6 GHz, and the maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) achieved 161 GHz as measured by S-parameter measurement. In the load-pull system, the frequency operation is under 28 GHz. For the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2\times 50~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m device at a drain bias of 20 V, it exhibits a maximum output power density (Pout) of 2.83 W/mm with a maximum 24.97% power-added efficiency (PAE). Additionally, for the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times 50~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m device at a drain bias of 32V, it achieves a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm { P_{out}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 1.27 W (3.18 W/mm). This work demonstrates that the novel gate fabrication process of shrinking gate head by using <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm { SiN_{x}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> shield achieves high-frequency and high-output power characteristics for Ka-band application.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062583/AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiChigh frequencySiNₓ shieldnovel gate fabrication |
| spellingShingle | Neng-Da Li Yueh-Chin Lin Kai-Wen Chen Heng-Tung Hsu Yi-Fan Tsao Edward Yi Chang Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications IEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC high frequency SiNₓ shield novel gate fabrication |
| title | Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications |
| title_full | Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications |
| title_fullStr | Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications |
| title_short | Novel Gate Fabrication Process Enhancing High-Frequency Operation in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Ka-Band Applications |
| title_sort | novel gate fabrication process enhancing high frequency operation in algan gan hemts for ka band applications |
| topic | AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC high frequency SiNₓ shield novel gate fabrication |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062583/ |
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