(Invited) Electrothermal Performance Optimization of III-Nitride HEMTs Capped with Nanocrystalline Diamond
Authors: Tadjer Marko J. , Anderson Travis J , Feygelson Tatyana I , Hobart Karl D , Ancona Mario G. , Koehler Andrew D. , Hite Jennifer K , Wheeler Virginia D. , Pate Bradford B , Kub Francis J , Eddy Charles R. 
Published: February 2020

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) capped with nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) have been demonstrated in the past to outperform electrically and thermally their SiN-passivated counterparts [1, 2]. However, a major process limitation for the integration of a diamond heat spreader has been the O2-plasma damage in the gate opening associated with etching the diamond cap. To reduce plasma damage, Anderson et al. have demonstrated a two-step diamond etch process, where the plasma power is reduced towards the end of the etch to minimize damage to the AlGaN surface [3]. While this process has enabled improved electrical performance of NCD-capped HEMTs, optimal passive heat spreading requires NCD films thicker than 0.5 µm which challenges the two-step etch approach [4]. Further complications such as on-wafer variations in NCD thickness have motivated the search for a more robust gate process.
Recently, we have proposed the use of a sacrificial gate (SG) prior to diamond growth [5, 6]. The SG stack consisted of a 10 nm thick ALD-grown Al2O3 layer followed by a 100 nm thick PECVD-grown SiNx layer. The SiNx layer served as an etch stop for the NCD layer, and the Al2O3 served as an etch stop for the SiNx layer. The Al2O3/SiNx stack was patterned with the dimensions of the gate and a blanket 500 nm thick CVD NCD film was conformally-grown over the feature. The gate feature was then realigned and a high power O2-plasma was used to clear the NCD film in the gate region. This resulted in a much more reliable gate opening since the window for NCD over-etch was much larger. The sacrificial SiNx finger was subsequently etched away using a SF6-ICP process. The Al2O3 layer was removed in dilute HF solution with no measureable degradation to the rest of the device. Finally, the Ni/Au gate metal stack was lifted off.
On HEMTs with a SG, the addition of a NCD cap did not cause any significant degradation in mobility, carrier density, or sheet resistance. By contrast, when a SG process was not used to protect the AlGaN surface, the NCD-capped HEMT experienced a decrease in mobility and an increase in sheet resistance. For the SG NCD-capped HEMT, the off-state current increased by less than an order of magnitude and threshold voltage shifted by about 1 V. However, on-state drain current levels remained comparable and degradation in dynamic on resistance (RON,DYN) upon an off-state drain bias stress was improved, indicating potential improvement in AlGaN surface passivation by the NCD film [2, 3]. Such improvement is also corroborated by the improvement in breakdown voltage in NCD-capped HEMTs with a conventional gate opening design.
This presentation will review progress in simulation, process integration, channel temperature mapping, and electrical characterization of diamond-capped devices. We will also review several novel NCD concepts, such as in-plane control of NCD thermal conductivity, as well as a diamond-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT [7, 8].
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