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In this work, recessed gate AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) with double AlGaN barrier designs are fabricated and investigated. Two different recessed depths are designed, leading to a 5 nm and a 3 nm remaining bottom AlGaN barrier under the gate region, and two different Al% (15% and 20%) in the bottom AlGaN barriers are designed. First of all, a double hump trans-conductance ( g m )-gate voltage ( V G ) characteristic is observed in a recessed gate AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMT with a 5 nm remaining bottom Al 0.2 Ga 0.8 N barrier under the gate region. Secondly, a physical model is proposed to explain this double channel characteristic by means of a formation of a top channel below the gate dielectric under a positive V G . Finally, the impacts of Al% content (15% and 20%) in the bottom AlGaN barrier and 5 nm/3 nm remaining bottom AlGaN barriers under the gate region are studied in detail, indicating that lowering Al% content in the bottom can increase the threshold voltage ( V TH ) toward an enhancement-mode characteristic., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by electrical means is important for the integration of plasmonics with molecular electronics or steering signals toward other components. We report electrically driven SPP sources based on quantum mechanical tunneling across molecular double-barrier junctions, where the tunneling pathway is defined by the molecules' chemical structure as well as by their tilt angle with respect to the surface normal. Self-assembled monolayers of S(CH 2 ) n BPh (BPh = biphenyl, n = 1-7) on Au, where the alkyl chain and the BPh units define two distinct tunnel barriers in series, were used to demonstrate and control the geometrical effects. The tilt angle of the BPh unit with respect to the surface normal depends on the value of n, and is 45° when n is even and 23° when n is odd. The tilt angle of the alkyl chain is fixed at 30° and independent of n . For values of n = 1-3, SPPs are directionally launched via directional tunneling through the BPh units. For values of n > 3, tunneling along the alkyl chain dominates the SPP excitation. Molecular level control of directionally launching SPPs is achieved without requiring additional on-chip optical elements, such as antennas, or external elements, such as light sources. Using the molecular tunneling junctions, we provide the first direct experimental demonstration of molecular double-barrier tunneling junctions.