MOCVD-grown, ultra-thin barrier AlN/GaN/AlN HEMTs fabricated using commercial GaN foundry process for Ka-band operation

This work presents aluminum nitride (AlN)/gallium nitride (GaN)/AlN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on 100 mm silicon carbide (SiC) fabricated using a commercial 150 nm RF GaN foundry process. High electrical performance uniformity across the wafer surface is demonstrated. The thin 3 nm AlN barrier, low ohmic contact resistances (0.09 Ω.mm), and high-density (1.26 × 1013 cm−2) 2DEG channel results in high transconductances of ∼640 mS mm−1 (maximum of 736 mS mm−1) and on-currents ∼1.5 A mm−1. A peak power output of 2.68 W mm−1 at power added efficiency (PAE) of 32% at Ka-band is measured. These results represent a significant step towards technology maturity for the AlN/GaN/AlN HEMTs by demonstrating their compatibility with current GaN foundry processes.