AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with field plate designs for high power and radio frequency applications: A review

For future mm-wave applications, the field-plate (FP) technology has emerged as one of the most feasible solutions to address a number of reliability issues associated with high power GaN HEMTs. This review highlights the role of various FP designs in GaN HEMTs, including source-FP, gate-FP, grating-FP, drain-FP, slant-FP, and dual-FP configurations. The gate-FP redistributes peak electric-fields (E) at the gate edges, significantly boost V BR by declining gate leakage. Drain-FP further extend the depletion area towards the drain, enhancing the power handling capability. Source-FP contribute to dynamic R ON stability. With only modest trade-offs to the RF performance, a nonoverlapping sunken source-FP architecture substantially enhances the OFF-state breakdown traits of GaN HEMTs. Advanced FP designs such as grating FP and slant FP offer superior peak electric field modulation and improves trade-offs between V BR and RF performance. Dual FP designs successfully combine multiple electric field-shaping mechanisms to attain outstanding frequency–power figures of merit. The FP design in GaN HEMTs offers a promising solution for performance enhancements in RF power devices by efficiently achieving a balance between V BR and f T .