Abstract
To improve the long-term stability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, the reduction of gate and drain leakage currents and electrical anomalies at pinch-off is required. As electron transport in these devices is both coupled with traps or surface states interactions and with polarization effects, the identification and localization of the preeminent leakage path is still challenging. This paper demonstrates that thermal laser stimulation (TLS) analysis (OBIRCh, TIVA, XIVA) performed on the die surface are efficient to localize leakage paths in GaN based HEMTs. The first part details specific parameters, such as laser scan speed, scan direction, wavelength, and laser power applied for leakage gate current paths identification. It compares results obtained with Visible_NIR electroluminescence analysis with the ones obtained by the TLS techniques on GaN HEMT structures. The second part describes some failure analysis case studies of AlGaN/GaN HEMT with field plate structure which were successful, thanks to the OBIRCh technique.
Revisiting the physical origin and nature of surface states in inverted-band semiconductors
