The Impact of Defects on GaN Device Behavior: Modeling Dislocations, Traps, and Pits

We demonstrate that modeling bulk traps and passivation/barrier interface traps in AlGaN/GaN HEMT is necessary to reproduce experimentally observed device behavior. Comparative modeling analysis of different leakage mechanisms in vertical p-n diode with a threading dislocation shows that variable range hopping is the dominant leakage mechanism there. The 3D quantum transport analysis of the impact of threading dislocations on electron mobility for sheet-like and nanowire-like GaN and SiMOSFET channels suggests considerable nanosheet variability and super-sensitive nanowire response. The analysis of voids in electrochemically induced pitting characterizes the impact of different pit types on different key metrics of transistor performance. (c) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.