Enhancement-Mode GaN Transistor Technology for Harsh Environment Operation

This letter reports an enhancement-mode (E- mode) GaN transistor technology which has been demonstrated to operate in a simulated Venus environ-ment (460 ◦C, ∼ 92 atm., containing CO2/N2/SO2 etc.) for10 days. The robustness of the W/p-GaN-gate AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) was evaluated by two complementary approaches, (1) in-situ electrical char- acterization, which revealed proper transistor operation (including E-mode VTH with <0.09 V variation) in extreme environments; and (2) advanced microscopy investigation of the device after test, which highlighted the effect of the stress conditions on the epitaxial and device structures. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first demonstration and comprehensive analysis of E-mode GaN transistors in such harsh environments.