Impact of heavy ion particle strike induced single event transients on conventional and π-Gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

• Published in: Semiconductor science and technology Vol. 36; no. 3
• Main Authors: Sehra, Khushwant, Kumari, Vandana, Gupta, Mridula, Mishra, Meena, Rawal, D S, Saxena, Manoj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.03.2021
• Subjects: HEMT; particle strike; SRIM; Victory TCAD
• ISSN: 0268-1242; 1361-6641
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6641/abdba3

This paper presents an extensive Victory TCAD based assessment to evaluate the device performance under heavy ion particle strike induced single event effects (SEEs). The impact of SEEs on π-shaped AlGaN/GaN HEMT architecture has been compared with conventional AlGaN/GaN HEMT. For validation of simulation, models have been calibrated against the experimental data of in-house fabricated GaN HEMTs on SiC wafers, after which π-shaped architecture is realized using Silvaco's Victory Process simulation tools. Comparisons demonstrate that π-Gate HEMT architecture is a SEE hardened device under different heavy ion particle strike conditions. Further, due to the step modification in the electric field itself, the π-Gate HEMT also exhibits SEE hardened operation under different ambient temperatures. The effect of angled heavy ion particle strike has also been studied for evaluating the device performance with regards to SEE.