On an Electroless Plating (EP)-Based Pd/AlGaN/GaN Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistor (HFET)-Type Hydrogen Gas Sensor

• Published in: IEEE electron device letters Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 788 - 790
• Main Authors: HUANG, Chien-Chang, CHEN, Huey-Ing, CHEN, Tai-You, HSU, Chi-Shiang, CHEN, Chun-Chia, CHOU, Po-Cheng, LIOU, Jian-Kai, LIU, Wen-Chau
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.06.2012; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Activation; Aluminum gallium nitride; Aluminum gallium nitrides; Applied sciences; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Devices; Electrodeposition, electroplating; Electroless plating; electroless plating (EP); Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Gallium nitride; Gallium nitrides; Gas detectors; Gas sensors; General equipment and techniques; HEMTs; heterostructure field-effect transistor (HFET); hydrogen; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Logic gates; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; MODFETs; Palladium; Physics; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; sensitization; sensor; Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing; Temperature measurement; Transistors; Ternary compound; Performance evaluation; Binary compound; heterostructure field-effect transistor (HFET); Hydrogen; Oscillation frequency; Activation; Gallium nitride; Thermal stability; Cut off frequency; Direct current; Drain current; sensitization; Electrical characteristic; electroless plating (EP); High performance; Measurement sensor; Aluminium nitride; III-V compound; Field effect transistor; Manufacturing process; Electronic component; Leakage current; Heterojunction field effect transistor; sensor; Electroless plating; Current gain; Gas detector
• ISSN: 0741-3106; 1558-0563
• DOI: 10.1109/LED.2012.2190032

A Pd/AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor (HFET)-type hydrogen gas sensor, based on the sensitization, activation, and electroless plating (EP) deposition processes, is fabricated and studied. Due to the used sensitization and activation approaches, a dense and uniform EP seed layer could be achieved. Good dc and microwave characteristics, including the higher turn-on voltage, lower reverse leakage current, improved thermal stability of drain current, enhanced unity current gain cutoff frequency, and maximum oscillation frequency, are obtained for a 1-m-gate-length device. Moreover, the significant hydrogen gas sensing performance, such as larger drain current variation and higher hydrogen detection sensitivity, are found under 1% and 5 ppm H 2 /air ambiences, respectively. Consequently, the studied EP-based Pd/AlGaN/GaN HFET gives the promise for high-performance electronic device and hydrogen gas sensor applications.