An Analysis of the Effects of Low-Energy Electron Irradiation of AlGaN / GaN HFETs

Authors

John W. McClory, Air Force Institute of TechnologyFollow
James C. Petrosky, Air Force Institute of Technology
James M. Sattler, Air Force Institute of Technology
Thomas Jarzen, Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-31-2007

Abstract

The effects of low energy (0.45 MeV) electron radiation on the gate and drain currents of Al0.27Ga0.73N/GaN HFETs are investigated using IV and CV measurements. Following irradiation, the gate and drain currents increase at low temperatures and reach a saturation level. The gate leakage currents do not fully account for the drain current increase. Following a room temperature anneal, the gate and drain currents return to pre-irradiation levels. These results are explained by the buildup of positive charge in the AlGaN layer at low temperature and traps formed via a complexing precursor in the AlGaN layer near the interface. The positive charge increases the carrier concentration in the 2DEG and hence the drain current. The traps act as trap-assisted-tunneling centers that increase the gate leakage current. Abstract © IEEE.

Comments

Copyright © 2007, IEEE

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DOI

10.1109/TNS.2007.910121

Source Publication

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science (ISSN 0018-9499)

Recommended Citation

J. W. McClory, J. C. Petrosky, J. M. Sattler and T. A. Jarzen, "An Analysis of the Effects of Low-Energy Electron Irradiation of AlGaN/GaN HFETs," in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 1946-1952, Dec. 2007, doi: 10.1109/TNS.2007.910121.