Performance and Threshold Voltage Reliability of Quaternary InAlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMT on Si for Power Device Applications

In this study, we empirically explore the performance degradation of quaternary InAlGaN/AlN/GaN Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor High Electron Mobility Transistors (MIS-HEMTs) with a Gate Field Plate (GFP) structure under a Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI) and Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) stresses. Both stress conditions (PBTI with V <tex-math notation="LaTeX">GS = 10 </tex-math> V and NBTI with V <tex-math notation="LaTeX">GS = -30 </tex-math> V) are applied. The experimental findings reveal a positive shift in threshold voltage (VTH), indicating the presence of a net negative charge beneath the gate area. However, we find distinct degradation dynamics for both stress experiments. During PBTI, the <tex-math notation="LaTeX">VTH </tex-math> shift remains temperature independent, suggesting the generation of defects leading to electron trapping in the insulator. In NBTI, critical defects are identified, resulting in a permanent <tex-math notation="LaTeX">VTH </tex-math> shift with temperature dependence. Furthermore, the extracted activation energy (Ea) from Arrhenius plots in PBTI is determined to be 0.14 eV and 0.11 eV, highlighting the crucial role of shallow C-related traps governed by the Shockley-Read Hall (SRH) recombination process. In contrast, for NBTI, <tex-math notation="LaTeX">Eₐ = 0.12 </tex-math> eV, indicating the involvement of surface traps and thermal-assisted de-trapping kinetics, leading to the generation of permanent defects. These results underscore the distinct dynamics of performance degradation phenomena in PBTI and NBTI involves different trap energies at different locations within the device structure.