Gallium nitride (GaN) is one of the front-runner materials among the so-called wide bandgap semiconductors that can provide devices having high breakdown voltages and are capable of performing efficiently even at high temperatures. The wide bandgap, however, naturally leads to a high density of surface states on bare GaN-based devices or interface states along insulator/semiconductor interfaces distributed over a wide energy range. These electronic states can lead to instabilities and other problems when not appropriately managed. In this Tutorial, we intend to provide a pedagogical presentation of the models of electronic states, their effects on device performance, and the presently accepted approaches to minimize their effects such as surface passivation and insulated gate technologies. We also re-evaluate standard characterization methods and discuss their possible pitfalls and current limitations in probing electronic states located deep within the bandgap. We then introduce our own photo-assisted capacitance–voltage (C–V) technique, which is capable of identifying and examining near mid-gap interface states. Finally, we attempt to propose some directions to which some audience can venture for future development.

We report on frequency dependent capacitance and conductance analysis of the AlGaN/GaN/Si heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) and Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN/S

The authors report on improved transport properties of Al2O3∕AlGaN∕GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs). It is found that the drift mobility in the MOSHFET structures with 4nm thick Al2O3 gate oxide is significantly higher than that in HFETs. The zero-bias mobilities are 1950 and 1630cm2∕Vs for the MOSHFET and HFET, respectively. An ∼40% increase of the saturation drain current in the MOSHFETs compared to the HFETs seems to be larger than expected from the passivation effects. The MOSHFET devices show a higher transconductance (with peak values of ∼115mS∕mm) than the HFETs (∼70mS∕mm). Analysis of the device performance indicates a decrease of the parasitic series resistance together with an enhancement of the effective velocity of the channel electrons in the MOSHFET devices.

We report on the frequency dependent conductance measurements of AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs). The properties of the devices with as-deposited and annealed 9-nm-thick Al2O3 gate oxide were investigated. The trap density in the range of 1011 cm−2 eV−1 was evaluated for the nonannealed devices. However, the conductance versus frequency peaks were significantly broader than those expected from theory, which indicates a surface potential fluctuation due to nonuniformities in the oxide charge and interface traps. Additionally, the dependence of the trap state time constant on gate voltage showed a deviation from the expected exponential function. However, the annealed devices (680 °C, 5 min) yielded a slightly lower (∼75%) trap density. Moreover, the conductance versus frequency data and the time constant versus gate voltage dependence of the annealed devices were in full agreement with the theoretical ones. The results show that the frequency dependent conductance analysis can be a useful tool for the characterization of AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs.

The trapping phenomena in GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron mobility transistor structures with 10 and 20-nm thick Al2O3 gate dielectric grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition were deeply investigated using comprehensive capacitance-voltage measurements. By controlling the interface traps population, substantial electron trapping in the dielectric bulk was identified. Separation between the trapping process and the interface traps emission allowed us to determine distribution of interface trap density in a wide energy range. Temperature dependence of the trapping process indicates thermionic field emission of electrons from the gate into traps with a sheet density of ∼1013 cm−2, located a few nm below the gate.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 was used to prepare metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices on two different_AlGaN/GaN heterostructures, with and without a thin GaN cap layer. Their trapping effects were evaluated by the frequency dependent conductance measurement. The trap state density decreased sharply from ∼1×1012 cm−2 eV−1 at the energy of 0.27 eV to ∼3×1010 cm−2 eV−1 at 0.45 eV. The low trap state density and exactly exponential dependence of the trap state time constant on the gate voltage show a good quality of the gate oxide. The trap state density in the structure with a GaN cap is about 2–3 times lower than that in the structure without a cap, which might be due to the different Al2O3/GaN and Al2O3/AlGaN interface properties. The trap state density in the structures investigated is lower than those reported for the devices with the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and Al-oxidized Al2O3 gate oxide. This shows an importance of the ALD technique for the preparation of high-performance AlGaN/GaN MOS transistors.