Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAFAt this year's European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis (ESREF), Dr. Michael Dammann from Fraunhofer IAF received the Best Paper Award. In his paper, he and his co-authors investigated the reliability and failure mechanisms of HEMTS with different gate technologies and demonstrated higher stability of PtAu gates. These results provide important insight into the reliability and lifetime of high-frequency components used in satellite communications and high-speed data transmission.
ESREF 2024: Best Paper Award goes to Michael Dammann
10/15/2024 European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis 2024
Dr. Michael Dammann, researcher at Fraunhofer IAF in the field of characterization and reliability, received the Best Paper Award of ESREF 2024.
The ESREF 2024 committee has awarded the paper entitled “Reliability and Failure Analysis of AlGaN/GaN HEMT with NiPtAu and PtAu Gate”. In this paper, researchers from Fraunhofer IAF in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS investigated the reliability and degradation mechanisms of high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs): 150 nm AlGaN/GaN HEMTs were compared with two different gate technologies, PtAu and NiPtAu gates.
In direct comparison, the results show a higher stability of PtAu gates. This is demonstrated by a lower increase in gate leakage current during High Temperature Reverse Bias (HTRB) stress tests and a lower scatter of extrapolated lifetime values during long term DC stress tests. Specifically, an activation energy of 1.37 eV and a lifetime of 107 hours at a channel temperature of 175°C and a drain voltage of 30 V were extrapolated for PtAu SiN gate devices, compared to 5∙104 hours at 15 V for 100 nm T-gate devices. The researchers concluded that a higher lateral electric field at the gate root is the reason for the faster degradation of the T-gate.
Using the TEM images and EDX mapping analysis produced by the Fraunhofer IMWS, the researchers were able to better understand the degradation mechanism. They found that the degradation of NiPtAu gate devices was due to stress-induced local oxidation of the SiN passivation on the drain side of the gate foot.
With this innovative work, first author Michael Dammann and the entire research team contribute to improving the reliability and lifetime of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for high-frequency applications.
About the ESREF
The 35th edition of the European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis (ESREF) was held in Parma, Italy from September 23 to 26. As a leading international conference, ESREF focuses on the latest research developments and future issues in failure analysis, quality and reliability of materials, devices and circuits for microelectronics, optoelectronics, power electronics, space and automotive electronics. The event provides a forum for participants from academia and industry to exchange views on all aspects of reliability for current and future semiconductor applications.