Normally-Off AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with InGaN cap layer: A simulation study

a b s t r a c t AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are favored for the use in high-power and highfrequency applications. Normally-off operation has been desired for various applications, but proved to be difficult to achieve. Recently, a new approach was proposed by Mizutani et al. [Mizutani T, Ito M, Kishimoto S, Nakamura F. AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with thin InGaN cap layer for normally-off operation. IEEE Elec Dev Lett 2007;28(7):549-51]: a thin InGaN cap layer introduces a polarization field, which raises the conduction band of the AlGaN/GaN interface. As a result, the threshold voltage is shifted in positive direction. Relying on the experimental work of Mizutani et al. we conduct a simulation study of the proposed devices. Our device simulation tool is expanded by material models for InN and InGaN and also an improved high-field mobility model accounting for the specifics of the III-N materials. Using this setup, we further explore the device specific effects and conduct an analysis of the AC characteristics

Critical modeling issues of SiGe semiconductor devices, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2004, nr 1

We present the state-of-the-art in simulation of silicon-germanium (SiGe) semiconductor devices. The work includes a detailed comparison of device simulators and current transport models. Among the critical modeling issues addressed in the paper, special attention is focused on the description of the anisotropic majority/minority electron mobility in strained SiGe grown on Si. We use a direct approach to obtain scattering parameters (S-parameters) and other derived figures of merit of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) by means of small-signal AC-analysis. Results from two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations ofSiGe HBTs are presented in good agreement with measured data. The examples are chosen to demonstrate technologically important issues which can be addressed and solved by device simulation

Industrial Application of Heterostructure Device Simulation,”

Abstract-We give an overview of the state-of-theart of heterostructure RF-device simulation for industrial application based on III-V compound semiconductors. Results for Heterostructure Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) and for High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) are presented in good agreement with measured data of industrially relevant devices

SiC/Al4SiC4-Based Heterostructure Transistors

A wide-band-gap (WBG) SiC/Al4SiC4 heterostructure transistor with a gate length of 5 μm is designed using a ternary carbide of Al4SiC4, and its performance is simulated by Silvaco Atlas. The simulations use a mixture of parameters obtained from ensemble Monte Carlo simulations, DFT calculations, and experimental data. The 5 μm gate length transistor is then laterally scaled to 2 and 1 μm gate length devices. The 5 μm gate length SiC/Al4SiC4 heterostructure transistor delivers a maximum drain current of 168 mA/mm, which increases to 244 mA/mm and 350 mA/mm for gate lengths of 2 and 1 μm, respectively. The device breakdown voltage is 59.0 V, which reduces to 31.0 V and to 18.0 V in the scaled 2 μm and the 1 μm gate length transistors, respectively. The scaled down 1 μm gate length device switches faster thanks to a higher transconductance of 65.1 mS/mm compared to only 1.69 mS/mm for the 5 μm gate length device. Finally, the subthreshold slope of the scaled devices is 197.3, 97.6, and 96.1 mV/dec for gate lengths of 5, 2, and 1 μm, respectively

A comprehensive model of gain recovery due to unipolar electron transport after a short optical pulse in quantum cascade lasers

We have developed a comprehensive model of gain recovery due to unipolar electron transport after a short optical pulse in quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) that takes into account all the participating energy levels, including the continuum, in a device. This work takes into account the incoherent scattering of electrons from one energy level to another and quantum coherent tunneling from an injector level to an active region level or vice versa. In contrast to the prior work that only considered transitions to and from a limited number of bound levels, this work include transitions between all bound levels and between the bound energy levels and the continuum. We simulated an experiment of S. Liu et al., in which 438-pJ femtosecond optical pulses at the device’s lasing wavelength were injected into an In0:653Ga0:348As=In0:310Al0:690As QCL structure; we found that approximately 1% of the electrons in the bound energy levels will be excited into the continuum by a pulse and that the probability that these electrons will be scattered back into bound energy levels is negligible, 104. The gain recovery that is predicted is not consistent with the experiments, indicating that one or more phenomena besides unipolar electron transport in response to a short optical pulse play an important role in the observed gain recovery

Design and modeling of a transistor vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

A multiple quantum well (MQW) transistor vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (T-VCSEL) is designed and numerically modeled. The important physical models and parameters are discussed and validated by modeling a conventional VCSEL and comparing the results with the experiment. The quantum capture/escape process is simulated using the quantum-trap model and shows a significant effect on the electrical output of the T-VCSEL. The parameters extracted from the numerical simulation are imported into the analytic modeling to predict the frequency response and simulate the large-signal modulation up to 40 Gbps

Multi-dimensional modeling and simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices

Self-consistent modeling and multi-dimensional simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices is an important tool in the development of future integrated light sources and quantum devices. Simulations can guide important technological decisions by revealing performance bottlenecks in new device concepts, contribute to their understanding and help to theoretically explore their optimization potential. The efficient implementation of multi-dimensional numerical simulations for computer-aided design tasks requires sophisticated numerical methods and modeling techniques. We review recent advances in device-scale modeling of quantum dot based single-photon sources and laser diodes by self-consistently coupling the optical Maxwell equations with semiclassical carrier transport models using semi-classical and fully quantum mechanical descriptions of the optically active region, respectively. For the simulation of realistic devices with complex, multi-dimensional geometries, we have developed a novel hp-adaptive finite element approach for the optical Maxwell equations, using mixed meshes adapted to the multi-scale properties of the photonic structures. For electrically driven devices, we introduced novel discretization and parameter-embedding techniques to solve the drift-diffusion system for strongly degenerate semiconductors at cryogenic temperature. Our methodical advances are demonstrated on various applications, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, grating couplers and single-photon sources

Semiconducting Metal Oxide Based Sensors for Selective Gas Pollutant Detection

A review of some papers published in the last fifty years that focus on the semiconducting metal oxide (SMO) based sensors for the selective and sensitive detection of various environmental pollutants is presented