Abstract
In this study, the negative shift of the threshold voltage (VTH) and degradation of the leakage current triggered by the ultraviolet (UV) light (375 nm) have been investigated when a large reverse gate-to-drain voltage was applied to a Si3N4/AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor. However, an increase in leakage was not observed under the blue light or in the dark. The holes generated in the channel by UV illumination were attracted by the gate electrode owing to the reverse voltage. During the movement, holes were captured by border traps at very deep levels in the Si3N4 near AlGaN, leading to a negative shift of VTH that was difficult to recover. According to the simulation based on Silvaco Atlas TCAD, the trapped holes significantly increased the electric field strength in Si3N4. Therefore, as the injection barrier for electrons from the gate became thinner, it was easier for electrons to tunnel through the Si3N4. Finally, for the degraded devices under the UV light stress, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling was the dominant leakage conduction mechanism, as exhibited by the current density versus electric field strength curve fitting. In addition, the holes with high energies collided with Si3N4 and generated new defects at the edge of the gate near the drain side.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. QTZX21-72), in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11690042, 61904135, 62104179), in part by Nature Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (Grant No. 2020JQ-316), and in part by Key R&D Program of Guangzhou (Grant No. 202103020002).
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Chen, Y., Zhu, Q., Zhu, J. et al. Degradation induced by holes in Si3N4/AlGaN/GaN MIS HEMTs under off-state stress with UV light. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 66, 122401 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-021-3377-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-021-3377-2