Chih-Hung Yen

Investigation of temperature-dependent characteristics of an n/sup +/-InGaAs/n-GaAs composite doped channel HFET

The temperature-dependent characteristics of an n+-InGaAs/n-GaAs composite doped channel (CDC) heterostructure field-effect transistor (HFET) have been studied. Due to the reduction of leakage current and good carrier confinement in the n+-InGaAs/n-GaAs CDC structure, the degradation of device performances with increasing the temperature is insignificant. Experimentally, for a 1 x 100 μm2 device, the gate-drain breakdown voltage of 24.5 (22.0) V, turn-on voltage of 2.05 (1.70) V, off-state drain-source breakdown voltage of 24.4 (18.7) V, transconductance of 161 (138) mS/mm, output conductance of 0.60 (0.60) mS/mm, and voltage gain of 268 (230) are obtained at 300 (450) K, respectively. The shift of Vth from 300 to 450 K is only 13 mV. In addition, the studied device also shows good microwave performances with flat and wide operation regime.

Influences of sulfur passivation on temperature-dependent characteristics of an AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs PHEMT

The influences of (NH/sub 4/)/sub 2/S/sub x/ treatment on an AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) are studied and demonstrated. Upon the sulfur passivation, the studied device exhibits better temperature-dependent dc and microwave characteristics. Experimentally, for a 1/spl times/100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ gate/dimension PHEMT with sulfur passivation, the higher gate/drain breakdown voltage of 36.4 (21.5) V, higher turn-on voltage of 0.994 (0.69) V, lower gate leakage current of 0.6 (571) /spl mu/A/mm at V/sub GD/=-22 V, improved threshold voltage of -1.62 (-1.71) V, higher maximum transconductance of 240 (211) mS/mm with 348 (242) mA/mm broad operating regime (>0.9g/sub m,max/), and lower output conductance of 0.51 (0.53) mS/mm are obtained, respectively, at 300 (510) K. The corresponding unity current gain cutoff frequency f/sub T/ (maximum oscillation frequency f/sub max/) are 22.2 (87.9) and 19.5 (59.3) GHz at 250 and 400 K, respectively, with considerably broad operating regimes (>0.8f/sub T/,f/sub max/) larger than 455 mA/mm. Moreover, the relatively lower variations of device performances over wide temperature range (300/spl sim/510 K) are observed.

On an AlGaInP-Based Light-Emitting Diode With an ITO Direct Ohmic Contact Structure

An interesting AlGaInP multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diode (LED) with a direct ohmic contact structure, formed by an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) transparent film and AuBe diffused thin layer, is fabricated and studied. The direct ohmic contact structure is performed by the deposition of an AuBe diffused thin layer and the following activation process on the surface of a Mg-doped GaP window layer. Experimental results demonstrate that a dynamic resistance of 5.7 Omega and a forward voltage of 1.91 V, under an injection current of 20 mA, are obtained. In addition, the studied LED exhibits a higher external quantum efficiency of 9.7% and a larger maximum light-output power of 26.6 mW. The external quantum efficiency is increased by 26% under the injection current of 100 mA, as compared with the conventional LED without this structure. This is mainly attributed to the reduced series resistance resulted from the relatively uniform distribution of AuBe atoms near the GaP layer surface and the effective current spreading ability by the use of ITO film. Moreover, the life behavior of the studied LED, under a 20-mA operation condition, is comparable to the conventional LED without this structure.

Performance investigation of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with tiny misorientation of sapphire substrates

GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on c-plane vicinal sapphire substrates are fabricated and characterized. Based on the material quality and electrical properties, the LED with a 0.2 degrees tilt sapphire substrate (device A) exhibits the lowest defect density and high performance, while the LED with a 1.0 degrees tilt sapphire (device D) exhibits the highest one. At 2 mA, the extremely enhanced output power of 23.3% indicates of the reduction of defect-related nonradiative recombination centers in active layers for the device A. At 60 mA, the improved value is up to 45.7%. This is primarily caused by the formation of indium quantum dots in MQW which provides an increased quantum efficiency.

Influences of surface sulfur treatments on the temperature-dependent characteristics of HBTs

The temperature-dependent DC characteristics of InGaP-GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors with and without sulfur treatment are systematically studied and demonstrated. Due to the use of sulfur passivation, the series resistance of base-emitter junction of studied device can be effectively reduced. In addition, the device with sulfur treatment can be operated under ultra low collector current regimes (I/sub C//spl les/10/sup -11/ A). Experimentally, a long-time sulfur treatment is not appropriate. In this work, the studied device with sulfur treatment for 15 min is a good choice. Furthermore, at measured temperature (298 K-398 K), the studied device with sulfur treatment can reduce collector-emitter offset voltage and the impact of emitter size effect. Moreover, as the temperature is increased, the device with sulfur treatment will exhibit higher DC current gain and more stable temperature-dependent performances. This will extend the application regimes of the studied device in low-power and communication systems.

Characteristics of a GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diode With an Inserted p-GaN/i-InGaN Superlattice Structure

An interesting GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) with a ten-period i (undoped)-InGaN/p (Mg doped)-GaN (2.5 nm/5 nm) superlattice (SL) structure, inserted between a multiple-quantum well (MQW) structure and a p-GaN layer, is fabricated and studied. This inserted SL can be regarded as a confinement layer of holes to enhance the hole injection efficiency. As compared with a conventional LED device without the SL structure, the studied LED exhibits better current spreading performance and an improved quality. The turn-on voltage, at 20 mA, is decreased from 3.32 to 3.14 V due to the reduced contact resistance as well as the more uniformity of carriers injection. A substantially reduced leakage current (10- 7 to 10- 9 A) and higher endurance of the reverse current pulse are found. The measured output power and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the studied LED are 13.6 mW and 24.8%. In addition, as compared with the conventional LED without the SL structure, the significant enhancement of 25.4% in output power as well as the increment of 5% in EQE are observed due to the superior current spreading ability and reduction of dislocations offered by the SL structure.

On a GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diode With a p-GaN/i-InGaN Superlattice Structure

An interesting GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) with a ten-period i-InGaN/p-GaN (5-nm/5-nm) superlattice (SL) structure, inserted between a multiple-quantum-well structure and a p-GaN layer, is fabricated and studied. This inserted SL can be regarded as a confinement layer of holes to enhance the hole injection efficiency. As compared with a conventional LED device without the SL structure, the studied LED exhibits better current-spreading performance and an improved quality. The turn-on voltage, at 20 mA, is decreased from 3.32 to 3.14 V due to the reduced contact resistance as well as the more uniformity of carrier injection. A substantially reduced leakage current (10-7-10-9 A) and higher endurance of the reverse current pulse are found. As compared with the conventional LED without the SL structure, the significant enhancement of 25.4% in output power and the increment of 5% in external quantum efficiency are observed.

On the InGaP/GaAs/InGaAs camel-like FET for high-breakdown, low-leakage, and high-temperature operations

A new field-effect transistor using a high-barrier n/sup +/ -GaAs/p/sup +/-InGaP/n-GaAs camel-like gate and GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure-channel has been fabricated successfully and demonstrated. Experimentally, an ultra high gate-drain breakdown voltage of 52 V, a high drain-source operation voltage over 20 V with low leakage currents, and a high drain-source off-state breakdown voltage of 39.7 V are obtained for a 1/spl times/100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ device. The high breakdown behavior is attributed to the use of high barrier camel-like gate and heterostructure channels to reduce the undesired leakage current. Furthermore, the studied device also shows high breakdown behavior in a high temperature environment and good microwave characteristics. Therefore, based on these characteristics, the studied device is suitable for high-breakdown, low-leakage, and high-temperature applications.

DC characterization of an InP-InGaAs tunneling emitter bipolar transistor (TEBT)

The dc performances of a novel InP-InGaAs tunneling emitter bipolar transistor (TEBT) are studied and demonstrated. The studied device can be operated under an extremely wide collector current regime larger than 11 decades in magnitude (10/sup -12/ to 10/sup -1/ A). A current gain of 3 is obtained even operated at an ultralow collector current of 3.9/spl times/10/sup -12/ A (1.56 /spl times/10/sup -7/ A/cm/sup 2/). The common-emitter and common-base breakdown voltages of the studied device are higher than 2 and 5 V, respectively. Furthermore, a very low collector-emitter offset voltage of 40 mV is found. The temperature-dependent dc characteristics of the TEBT are measured and studied. Consequentially, based on experimental results, the studied device provides the promise for low-power electronics applications.

Characteristics and comparison of In0.49Ga0.51P/InGaAs single and double delta-doped pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors

Abstract The InGaP/InGaAs single and double delta-doped pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (δ-PHEMT) grown by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition have been fabricated and investigated. Based on the employment of the wide-gap InGaP Schottky layer and delta-doped carrier supplier, the high breakdown voltages together with good device characteristics are obtained simultaneously. Furthermore, the newly designed V-shaped InGaAs channel can enhance the carrier confinement effect and increase the product of carrier concentration and mobility. Experimentally, for 1×100 μm 2 devices, the gate-to-drain breakdown voltages larger than 40 (30) V, the transconductances of 90 (201) mS/mm, and the maximum current densities of 646 (846) mA/mm are achieved for the studied single and double δ-PHEMT, respectively. Meanwhile, the measured fT and fmax are 12 (16) and 28.4 (34) GHz, respectively.