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In this paper, we have presented an atomistic quantum simulation study to investigate the device performances of GaSb/InAs heterojunction tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) with nanometer body thicknesses. It is revealed that the thin junction induced quantum confinement effect results in a heterojunction type transition from type-III to type-II as the junction thickness reduces, which can be used as an effective modulation of the TFET device performance. It is found that as the channel thickness decreases, both the ON current and OFF current of the device decrease significantly due to the quantum confinement induced effective band gap enlargement. In addition, the OFF current of the heterojunction GaSb/InAs TFET is always larger than that of the homojunction InAs TFET, which is possibly caused by the GaSb/InAs interfacial state assisted tunneling. It is also revealed that the subthreshold swing of the heterojunction TFET does not change much as the channel thickness is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the degradation mode and mechanism of AlGaN/GaN based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) during high temperature operation (HTO) stress. It demonstrates that there was abrupt degradation mode of drain current during HTO stress. The abrupt degradation is ascribed to the formation of crack under the gate which was the result of the brittle fracture of epilayer based on failure analysis. The origin of the mechanical damage under the gate is further investigated and discussed based on top-down scanning electron microscope, cross section transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis, and stress simulation. Based on the coupled analysis of the failure physical feature and stress simulation considering the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch in different materials in gate metals/semiconductor system, the mechanical damage under the gate is related to mechanical stress induced by CTE mismatch in Au/Ti/Mo/GaN system and stress concentration caused by the localized structural damage at the drain side of the gate edge. These results indicate that mechanical stress induced by CTE mismatch of materials inside the device plays great important role on the reliability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs during HTO stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-filament 3D vertical RRAM (VRRAM) is a promising technology for emerging high-density memory applications. In this Letter, the layer-dependent resistance variability at both low resistance state (LRS) and high resistance state (HRS) is assessed on state-of-the-art 8-layer 3D VRRAMs. 2048 devices are measured with the aid of an FPGA-controlled relay matrix which enables automated switching of devices without changing the cabling. The results show LRS exhibits little layer dependence while both the average and the standard variation of HRS decrease from the top layer to the bottom layer. A qualitative speculation is proposed to explain the observation based on the high-resolution transmission electronic microscope image. This work is beneficial for future 3D VRRAM circuit design and performance improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effects of hydrogen on an AlGaN/GaN metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor (MISFET) with SiNx gate dielectric were investigated. It is found that after hydrogen exposure, (1) the AlGaN/GaN MISFET exhibits better DC performance with larger maximum transconductance, (2) the gate lag phenomenon is effectively suppressed and (3) the 1/f noise performance is improved with lower noise magnitude. These results are different from previous observations in other III–V semiconductor devices. Based on the theoretical analysis by space charge limited current and low-frequency noise models, we propose that the hydrogen treatment induces hydrogen incorporation into SiNx, which could passivate the defect centers. These findings demonstrate the high hydrogen tolerance of AlGaN/GaN MISFETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of displacement damage induced by 3 and 6 MeV protons in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are investigated. For the 6 MeV protons at a dose of 5 × 1014 cm−2, a 12% decrease in saturation current, a 3.8% decrease in the peak transconductance, a 0.3 V positive shift of the threshold voltage, and a three-to fourfold decrease in reverse gate leakage current are observed compared with the pre-irradiation values. The main degradation mechanism is considered to be the generation of deep trap states in the band gap, which remove electrons and reduce the carrier mobility in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Both the carrier removal rate and negatively charged trap density can be extracted, which shows that about 3500 proton injections lead to one carrier removal. Proton fluence and energy are found to be two key parameters that affect the degradation characteristics of irradiated GaN HEMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]