Advanced CHFET with GaN Insulator

TLC Precision Wafer Technology, Inc. (TLC) has a very aggressive plan for becoming a leading manufacturer and supplier of epitaxial GaAs and InP-based wafers for military and commercial applications. Key to our strategy is to identify, develop, and be the first at market with those advanced semiconductor materials that offer clear cost and performance advantages for high speed/low power applications. We strongly believe that the complementary GaAs heterostructure field effect transistor (CHFET) technology is such a materials system. Even though recent progress has been made toward LSI circuit levels, materials/device issues must be further optimized to realize the full potential of this technology. The key issues to optimize are (i) threshold voltage control for both the n- and p-channel FETs, (ii) increased p-channel FET transconductance and, (iii) reduced gate leakage of the FETs. Of the three issues stated above, only the gate leakage issue can not be optimized with the current structure. The "insulating" Al(sub0.75)Ga(sub0.25)As layer can not be made any more resistive under the current growth conditions. TLC has detailed plans for modifying the standard CHFET structure by replacing the Al(sub0.75)Ga(sub0.25)As layer with an MBE-grown GaN layer which has intrinsically greater insulating properties.