High Temperature AlN Gate Dielectric Field Effect Transistors

A major innovation is needed to produce power devices which can operate at high temperatures (400 _C). Current Silicon power transistors have a maximum operating temperature typically below 150*C. High-temperature and high power electronics dictate a wide bandgap semiconductor such as SiC or GaN be used. SVT Associates proposes to use AlN deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) as an insulator for both SiC and GaN based metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistors (MISFETs). AlN is ideal for this application due to its high breakdown voltage and thermal stability. In the Phase I program, a RF plasma source will be used to provide activated nitrogen for the growth of insulating AlN films. These layers will be used to fabricate capacitors on both GaN and SiC substrates to characterize the properties of the AlN as a function of temperature. A MISFET based on a GaN HEMT structure will be fabricated using the AlN insulator and tested at elevated temperatures.