Gate Oxide for GaN FET Devices

We propose to take the first steps in demonstrating a new class of high frequency FETs by demonstrating a gate oxide for GaN/AlGaN MOSFETs. In this work, Gallium based oxides will be grown by MBE using a specially developed effusion cell that is uniquelycapable of high temperature operation in the presence of oxygen. In addition, a new type of atomic oxygen source will be employed that does not damage the semiconductor/Oxide interface. We will use this new MBE technology to (1) optimize the nucleation ofoxide on GaN FET Structures, (2) grow bulk oxide films with a bandgap in excess of 4.5eV, (3) and produce oxide films that possess good interface properties and a low residual conductivity. The materials will be characterized using techniques includingellipsometry, Photoluminscence, C-V, and I-V measurements as a function of temperature.The development of a high quality gate oxide for GaN will revolutionize the semiconductor industry by enabling a GaN CMOS IC technology. We anticipate that the resulting FET technology would be radiation hard, able to operate at very high microwave andMM-wave frequencies and find use in DOD relevant missile, satellite, and land based applications. We also anticipate that this new GaN-MOS technology would find numerous applications in the commercial microwave electronics including enhancement mode poweramplifiers for wireless base stations.