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Aluminum nitride (AlN) offers novel potential for electronic integration and performance benefits for high‐power, millimeter‐wave amplification. Herein, load‐pull power performance at 30 and 94 GHz for AlN/GaN/AlN high‐electron‐mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon carbide (SiC) is reported. When tuned for peak power‐added efficiency (PAE), the reported AlN/GaN/AlN HEMT shows PAE of 25% and 15%, with associated output power (Pout) of 2.5 and 1.7 W mm−1, at 30 and 94 GHz, respectively. At 94 GHz, the maximum Pout generated is 2.2 W mm−1, with associated PAE of 13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power and RF electronics applications have spurred massive investment into a range of wide and ultrawide bandgap semiconductor devices which can switch large currents and voltages rapidly with low losses. However, the end systems using these devices are often limited by the parasitics of integrating and driving these chips from the silicon complementary metal–oxide-semiconductor-based design (CMOS) circuitry necessary for complex control logic. For that reason, implementation of CMOS logic directly in the wide bandgap platform has become a way for each maturing material to compete. This review examines potential CMOS monolithic and hybrid approaches in a variety of wide bandgap materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluating GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) for high-power applications, it is crucial to consider the device-level breakdown characteristics. This letter replaces the conventional AlGaN barrier and common AlGaN backbarrier with unstrained AlN, and it assesses the breakdown voltage of AlN/GaN/AlN quantum well HEMTs for gate-drain spacings in the range of 0.27– $5.1~\mu \text{m}$. The results are highlighted by a high breakdown voltage of 78 V for a gate-drain spacing of 390 nm, among the best reported for submicron-channel devices. In addition, small-signal RF measurements showed record performance for HEMTs on the AlN platform, with $\text {f}_{\text {t}}/\text {f}_{\text {max}} = {161}/{70}$ GHz. The cut-off frequency and corresponding drain bias are benchmarked against the state-of-the-art GaN HEMTs using the Johnson figure of merit, with measured devices highlighted by a JFoM value of 2.2 THz $\cdot $ V. These results illustrate the potential for AlN/GaN/AlN quantum well HEMTs as a future platform for high-power RF transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]