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Chemical sensors can be used to analyze a wide variety of environmental and biological gases and liquids and may need to be able to selectively detect a target analyte. Different methods, including gas chromatography, chemiluminescence, selected ion flow tube, and mass spectroscopy, have been used to measure biomarkers. These methods show variable results in terms of sensitivity for some applications and may not meet the requirements for a handheld biosensor. A promising sensing technology utilizes AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). HEMT structures have been developed for use in microwave power amplifiers due to their high two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mobility and saturation velocity. The conducting 2DEG channel of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is very close to the surface and extremely sensitive to adsorption of analytes. HEMT sensors can be used for detecting gases, ions, pH values, proteins, and DNA. In this paper we review recent progress on functionalizing the surface of HEMTs for specific detection of glucose, kidney marker injury molecules, prostate cancer, and other common substances of interest in the biomedical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) with channels made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) are used extensively in the display industry. Amorphous silicon continues to dominate large-format display technology, but a-Si:H has a low electron mobility,μ ∼ 1 cm2/V s. Transparent, conducting metal-oxide materials such as Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide (IGZO) have demonstrated electron mobilities of 10-50 cm2/V s and are candidates to replace a-Si:H for TFT backplane technologies. The device performance depends strongly on the type of band alignment of the gate dielectric with the semiconductor channel material and on the band offsets. The factors that determine the conduction and valence band offsets for a given material system are not well understood. Predictions based on various models have historically been unreliable and band offset values must be determined experimentally. This paper provides experimental band offset values for a number of gate dielectrics on IGZO for next generation TFTs. The relationship between band offset and interface quality, as demonstrated experimentally and by previously reported results, is also explained. The literature shows significant variations in reported band offsets and the reasons for these differences are evaluated. The biggest contributor to conduction band offsets is the variation in the bandgap of the dielectrics due to differences in measurement protocols and stoichiometry resulting from different deposition methods, chemistry, and contamination. We have investigated the influence of valence band offset values of strain, defects/vacancies, stoichiometry, chemical bonding, and contamination on IGZO/dielectric heterojunctions. These measurements provide data needed to further develop a predictive theory of band offsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite element simulation was used to estimate the temperature rise of laser lift-off AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) mounted on AlN substrates via silicone elastomer under various conditions of power density on the transistor and for a range of elastomer thicknesses. The thermal response was compared to HEMTs fabricated on SiC and sapphire substrates. The maximum temperature of the transistor occurred in the gate area at a power level of 15 W, and was only 25 K higher than HEMTs fabricated on SiC. The transit time required for steady-state temperature of the flip-chip bonding device is in the range of a millisecond, which is faster than that of most power switch applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti/Al/Ni/Au Ohmic contact metallization on InAlN/GaN heterostructures both with and without a thin GaN cap layer was annealed at different temperatures. The minimum transfer resistance for the contacts of 0.65 Ω mm (specific contact resistivity of 2×10-5 Ω cm2) was achieved after 800 °C annealing for structures without the GaN cap, while those with the cap exhibited their lowest resistance at higher temperatures. The contact morphology showed considerable roughening by 750 °C but the carrier mobility was stable until annealing temperatures of 850 °C. Diffuse scattering experiments showed that the morphological roughness of the InAlN/GaN interface increased as a result of annealing at these temperatures and the data were consistent with outdiffusion of Ga into the InAlN. Unpassivated high electron mobility transistors with a gate dimension of 0.7×180 μm2 were fabricated using these contacts and showed a maximum drain current of 1.3 A/mm and an extrinsic transconductance of 366 mS/mm. The presence of the GaN cap increased the effective barrier height of Ni/Au Schottky contacts from 0.91 to 1.01 eV on the heterostructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability studies of InAlAs/InGaAs metamorphic high electron mobility transistors (MHEMTs) grown on GaAs substrates for high frequency/power applications are reported. The MHEMTs were stressed at a drain voltage of 3 V for 36 h, as well as undergoing a thermal storage test at 250 °C for 48 h. The drain current density of the MHEMTs at zero gate bias dropped about 12.5% after either the thermal storage experiment or dc stress. The gate current of the MHEMT devices with thermal storage was much higher than that of devices after dc stress. In the latter case, significant gate sinking was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The main degradation mechanism during thermal storage was the reaction of the Ohmic contact with the underlying semiconductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indium zinc oxide (IZO)-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were used to detect oxygen gas. Amorphous IZO films with high carrier concentration of 1021 cm-3 were deposited on the gate region of the HEMTs by cosputtering from ZnO and In2O3 targets. The changes in IZO gated-AlGaN/GaN HEMT drain current were used to monitor the presence of oxygen. The IZO gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT sensors were tested with O2 at room temperature, 50 °C, and 120 °C. There was no response to O2 at room temperature. At 50 °C, the sensors could sense O2 but gradually saturated. The sensor showed a strong response to the oxygen gas at 120 °C, which is a much lower temperature than with conventional oxide-based oxygen sensors that typically operate in the range of 400–700 °C. This enhanced oxygen sensing sensitivity was due to the amplification effect of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT. A preannealing step at 350 °C was also found to improve the sensitivity and response time of O2 sensing at 120 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone treatment of AlN on AlN/GaN heterostructures produces effective surface passivation and chemical resistance to the AZ positive photoresist developer used for subsequent device fabrication. The ozone-passivated AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) exhibited low gate leakage currents, high gate modulation voltage, and minimal drain current degradation during gate pulse measurements. With an additional oxygen plasma treatment on the gate area prior to the gate metal deposition, enhancement-mode AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were realized. The gate characteristics of the HEMTs treated with the ozone and oxygen plasma behaved in a manner similar to a metal oxide semiconductor diodelike gate current-voltage characteristic instead of a Schottky diode. Drain breakdown voltages of 23 and 43 V for d- and e-mode HEMTs were obtained, respectively. For d-mode HEMTs, there was no reduction in the drain current during the gate pulse measurements at frequencies of 1, 10, and 100 kHz. For the e-mode HEMT, the drain current was reduced 5% at 100 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust method for creating Cu-plated through-wafer vias for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors on Si is reported. The initial 70 μm deep vias with diameters of 50 μm are created by deep Si reactive ion etching, followed by pulsed Cu electroplating and mechanical polishing to planarize the metal. This is an attractive approach for increasing the effective thermal conductivity of the composite substrate for very high power device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were irradiated with 60Co gamma-rays to doses up to 1000 Gy, in order to analyze the effects of irradiation on the devices' transport properties. Temperature-dependent electron beam-induced current measurements, conducted on the devices before and after exposure to gamma-irradiation, allowed for the obtaining of activation energies related to radiation-induced defects due to nitrogen vacancies. DC current-voltage measurements were also conducted on the transistors to assess the impact of gamma-irradiation on transfer, gate, and drain characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon monoxide (CO) detection sensitivities of ZnO nanorod-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were measured over a range of temperatures from 25-150 °C. Once the sensor was exposed to the CO-containing ambient, the drain current, I, of the high electron mobility transistors increased due to chemisorbed oxygen on the ZnO surface reacting with CO, forming CO2 and releasing electrons to the oxide surface. Although the sensor could detect CO as low as 100 ppm at room temperature, the detection sensitivity, ΔI/I, was only around 0.23%. By increasing the sensor temperature to 150 °C, the detection sensitivity was improved by a factor of over 30% to 7.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A subnanometer thick interfacial oxide layer present between the Ni/Au gate metal stack and semiconducting epilayers of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor was characterized using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and laser-assisted atom probe tomography. It was revealed that the oxide is composed of distinct Ni-oxide-rich and Al-oxide-rich layers with no Ga-oxide detected. The results provide information that is of potential importance in determining failure mechanisms and improving reliability of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen ion-implanted AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures showed an isolation blocking voltage of 900 V with a leakage current at 1 μA/mm across an implanted isolation-gap of 10 μm between two Ohmic pads. The effect of implanted gap distance (1.7, 5, or 10 μm) between two Ohmic contact pads was evaluated. The isolation current density was determined to be solely dependent on the applied field between the contact pads. A model using a combination of resistive current and Poole-Frenkel current is consistent with the experimental data. The resistance of the isolation implantation region significantly decreased after the sample was annealed at temperatures above 600 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of relative humidity on sensing characteristics of Pt-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor diode based hydrogen sensors were investigated. The absorbed water and oxygen molecules blocked available Pt surface adsorption sites for H2 absorption and reduced the hydrogen sensing sensitivity compared to low humidity conditions. The hydrogen sensing sensitivity decreased proportional to the relative humidity. However, the presence of humidity improved the sensor recovery characteristics after exposure to the hydrogen ambient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sc2O3/AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) high electron mobility transistors were fabricated on (1120) a-plane, Si-doped epitaxial layers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on (1 1_20) r-plane sapphire substrates. The gate finger direction was varied from parallel to the in-plane c-axis [0001] to the m-axis [1 01_0] direction perpendicular to the observed striations in surface morphology. The [0001] gate devices show lower drain-source current, mobility, and transconductance than their [1 01_0] counterparts, with a systematic dependence on gate finger direction. The symmetrical gate current-voltage characteristics and low gate current (∼3×10-9 A at ±5 V) confirm the effectiveness of the MOS gate, which is an attractive approach for these structures containing heavily Si-doped AlGaN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibody-functionalized, Au-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were used to detect Perkinsus marinus. The antibody was anchored to the gate area through immobilized thioglycolic acid. The AlGaN/GaN HEMT drain-source current showed a rapid response of less than 5 s when the infected solution was added to the antibody-immobilized surface. The sensor can be recycled with a phosphate buffered saline wash. These results clearly demonstrate the promise of field-deployable electronic biological sensors based on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for Perkinsus marinus detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with a polarized polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) film coated on the gate area exhibited significant changes in channel conductance upon exposure to different ambient pressures. The PVDF thin film was deposited on the gate region with an ink-jet plotter. Next, the PDVF film was polarized with an electrode located 2 mm above the PVDF film at a bias voltage of 10 kV and 70 °C. Variations in ambient pressure induced changes in the charge in the polarized PVDF, leading to a change in surface charges on the gate region of the HEMT. Changes in the gate charge were amplified through the modulation of the drain current in the HEMT. By reversing the polarity of the polarized PVDF film, the drain current dependence on the pressure could be reversed. Our results indicate that HEMTs have potential for use as pressure sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibody-functionalized, Au-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were used to detect botulinum toxin. The antibody was anchored to the gate area through immobilized thioglycolic acid. The AlGaN/GaN HEMT drain-source current showed a rapid response of less than 5 s when the target toxin in a buffer was added to the antibody-immobilized surface. We could detect a range of concentrations from 1 to 10 ng/ml. These results clearly demonstrate the promise of field-deployable electronic biological sensors based on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs for botulinum toxin detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of lactic acid with ZnO nanorod-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) was demonstrated. The array of ZnO nanorods provided a large effective surface area with a high surface-to-volume ratio and a favorable environment for the immobilization of lactate oxidase. The HEMT drain-source current showed a rapid response when various concentrations of lactic acid solutions were introduced to the gate area of the HEMT sensor. The HEMT could detect lactic acid concentrations from 167 nM to 139 μM. Our results show that portable, fast response, and wireless-based lactic acid detectors can be realized with AlGaN/GaN HEMT based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) functionalized with polyethylenimine/starch were used for detecting CO2 with a wide dynamic range of 0.9%–50% balanced with nitrogen at temperatures from 46 to 220 °C. Higher detection sensitivity to CO2 gas was achieved at higher testing temperatures. At a fixed source-drain bias voltage of 0.5 V, drain-source current of the functionalized HEMTs showed a sublinear correlation upon exposure to different CO2 concentrations at low temperature. The superlinear relationship was at high temperature. The sensor exhibited a reversible behavior and a repeatable current change of 32 and 47 μA with the introduction of 28.57% and 37.5% CO2 at 108 °C, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were used to detect kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), an important biomarker for early kidney injury detection. The gate region consisted of 5 nm gold deposited onto the AlGaN surface. The gold was conjugated to highly specific KIM-1 antibodies through a self-assembled monolayer of thioglycolic acid. The HEMT source-drain current showed a clear dependence on the KIM-1 concentration in phosphate-buffered saline solution. The limit of detection was 1 ng/ml using a 20×50 μm2 gate sensing area. This approach shows potential for both preclinical and clinical kidney injury diagnosis with accurate, rapid, noninvasive, and high throughput capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bare Au gated and thioglycolic acid functionalized Au-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were used to detect mercury (II) ions. Fast detection of less than 5 s was achieved for thioglycolic acid functionalized sensors. This is the shortest response time ever reported for mercury detection. Thioglycolic acid functionalized Au-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT based sensors showed 2.5 times larger response than bare Au-gated based sensors. The sensors were able to detect mercury (II) ion concentration as low as 10-7M. The sensors showed an excellent sensing selectivity of more than 100 for detecting mercury ions over sodium or magnesium ions. The dimensions of the active area of the sensor and the entire sensor chip are 50×50 μm2 and 1×5 mm2, respectively. Therefore, portable, fast response, and wireless based heavy metal ion detectors can be realized with AlGaN/GaN HEMT based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Au-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures were functionalized in the gate region with label-free 3′-thiol-modified oligonucleotides. This serves as a binding layer to the AlGaN surface for hybridization of matched target deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows the immobilization of thiol-modified DNA covalently bonded with gold on the gated region. Hybridization between probe DNA and matched or mismatched target DNA on the Au-gated HEMT was detected by electrical measurements. The HEMT drain-source current showed a clear decrease of 115 μA as this matched target DNA was introduced to the probe DNA on the surface, showing the promise of the DNA sequence detection approach for biological sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in the capacitance of the channel of an AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) membrane structure fabricated on a Si substrate were measured during the application of both tensile and compressive strain through changes in the ambient pressure. The capacitance of the channel displays a change of 7.19±0.45×10-3 pF/μm as a function of the radius of the membrane at a fixed pressure of +9.5 bar and exhibits a linear characteristic response between -0.5 and +1 bar with a sensitivity of 0.86 pF/bar for a 600 μm radius membrane. The hysteresis was 0.4% in the linear range. These AlGaN/GaN HEMT membrane-based sensors appear to be promising for both room-temperature and elevated-temperature pressure-sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) show a strong dependence of source/drain current on the piezoelectric-polarization-induced two-dimensional electron gas. The spontaneous and piezoelectric-polarization-induced surface and interface charges can be used to develop very sensitive but robust sensors for the detection of pressure changes. The changes in the conductance of the channel of a AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) membrane structure fabricated on a Si substrate were measured during the application of both tensile and compressive strain through changes in the ambient pressure. The conductivity of the channel shows a linear change of -(+)6.4×10-2 mS/bar for application of compressive (tensile) strain. The AlGaN/GaN HEMT membrane-based sensors appear to be promising for pressure sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pt contacted AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors with Sc2O3 gate dielectrics show reversible changes in drain–source current upon exposure to H2-containing ambients, even at room temperature. The changes in current (as high as 3 mA for relatively low gate voltage and drain–source voltage) are approximately an order of magnitude larger than for Pt/GaN Schottky diodes and a factor of 5 larger than Sc2O3/AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) diodes exposed under the same conditions. This shows the advantage of using a transistor structure in which the gain produces larger current changes upon exposure to hydrogen-containing ambients. The increase in current is the result of a decrease in effective barrier height of the MOS gate of 30–50 mV at 25 °C for 10% H2/90% N2 ambients relative to pure N2 and is due to catalytic dissociation of the H2 on the Pt contact, followed by diffusion to the Sc2O3/AlGaN interface. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of the electrical characteristics of 250 devices on the same 2 in. diameter wafer shows that Ti/Al/Ir/Au Ohmic contacts on AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have lower average specific contact resistance after annealing at 850 °C for 30 s (4.6×10[sup -5] Ω cm[sup 2]) compared to more standard Ti/Al/Ni/Au contacts (2×10[sup -4] Ω cm[sup 2]). HEMTs with these Ir-based contacts also show average interdevice isolation currents approximately a factor of 2 lower, higher peak transconductance (134 mS/mm compared to 121 mS/mm), and higher device breakdown voltage (31 V compared to 23 V) than the devices with Ni-based contacts. This Ir-based contact metallurgy looks promising for applications requiring extended thermal stability of the HEMTs. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in the conductance of the channel of Al[sub 0.3]Ga[sub 0.7]N/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor structures during the application of both tensile and compressive strain were measured. For a fixed Al mole fraction, the changes in the conductance were roughly linear over the range up to 2.7×10[sup 8] N cm[sup -2], with coefficients for planar devices of -6.0+/-2.5×10[sup -10] S N[sup -1] m[sup -2] for tensile strain and +9.5+/-3.5×10[sup -10] S N[sup -1] m[sup -2] for compressive strain. For mesa-isolated structures, the coefficients were smaller due to the reduced effect of the AlGaN strain, with values of 5.5+/-1.1×10[sup -13] S N[sup -1] m[sup -2] for tensile strain and 4.8×10[sup -13] S N[sup -1] m[sup -2] for compressive strain. The large changes in the conductance demonstrate that simple AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are promising for pressure and strain sensor applications. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral electron mobilities in 0.2-µm-thick n-(Ga, Mn)N films were obtained from Hall measurements, producing values of 116∼ 102 cm²/V s in the temperature range from 298 to 373 K. These values are comparable to, but slightly lower than, electron mobilities in n-GaN of the same electron concentration. By sharp contrast, analysis of the reverse saturation current in mesa Schottky diodes fabricated in the n-(Ga, Mn)N show vertical electron mobilities of 840∼336 cm²/V s in the temperature range from 298 to 373 K. This is consistent with a reduction in electron scattering by charged dislocations for vertical transport geometries [M. Misra, A. V. Sampath, and T. D. Moustakas, Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 1045 (2000)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sc[sub 2]O[sub 3]-passivated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were irradiated with 40 MeV protons to a fluence corresponding to approximately 10 years in low-earth orbit (5 × 10[sup 9] cm[sup -2]). Devices with an AlGaN cap layer showed less degradation in dc characteristics than comparable GaN-cap devices, consistent with differences in average band energy. The changes in device performance could be attributed completely to bulk trapping effects, demonstrating that the effectiveness of the Sc[sub 2]O[sub 3] layers in passivating surface states in the drain-source region was undiminished by the proton irradiation. Sc[sub 2]O[sub 3]-passivated AlGaN/HEMTs appear to be attractive candidates for space and terrestrial applications where resistance to high fluxes of ionizing radiation is a criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with different gate length and widths were irradiated with [sup 60]Co γ-rays to doses up to 600 Mrad. Little measurable change in dc performance of the devices was observed for doses lower than 300 Mrad. At the maximum dose employed, the forward gate current was significantly decreased, with an accompanying increase in reverse breakdown voltage. This is consistent with a decrease in effective carrier density in the channel as a result of the introduction of deep electron trapping states. The threshold voltage shifted to more negative voltages as a result of the irradiation, while the magnitude of the drain–source current was relatively unaffected. This is consistent with a strong increase of trap density in the material. The magnitude of the decrease in transconductance of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is roughly comparable to the decrease in dc current gain observed in InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors irradiated under similar conditions. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ga[sub 2]O[sub 3](Gd[sub 2]O[sub 3]) was deposited on GaN for use as a gate dielectric in order to fabricate a depletion metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Analysis of the effect of temperature on the device shows that gate leakage is significantly reduced at elevated temperature relative to a conventional metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor fabricated on the same GaN layer. MOSFET device operation in fact improved upon heating to 400 °C. Modeling of the effect of temperature on contact resistance suggests that the improvement is due to a reduction in the parasitic resistances present in the device. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were electrically stressed using off-state high reverse gate biases. In devices demonstrating the largest, most rapid decrease in normalized maximum drain current, defects were found at the gate/AlGaN epilayer interface and characterized using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. These defects appear to be a reaction between the Ni layer of the Ni/Au gate metal stack and the AlGaN epilayer. Additionally, simulations of the electric field lines from the defective devices match the defect morphology. These results provide important insight toward understanding failure mechanisms and improving reliability of Ni-gate AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Sc2O3)x(Ga2O3)1-x films grown by molecular beam epitaxy show promise for use as surface passivation layers and gate dielectrics on GaN-based high electron mobility transistors. Completely selective, low-damage, dry etching of (Sc2O3)x(Ga2O3)1-x films with respect to GaN can be achieved with low-power inductively coupled plasmas of CH4/H2/Ar with etch rates in the range 200-300 Å /min. The incident ion energies are of order 100 eV, and no roughening of the underlying GaN was observed under these conditions. Similar etch rates were obtained with Cl2/Ar discharges under the same conditions, but GaN showed rates almost an order of magnitude higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) with channels made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) are used extensively in the display industry. Amorphous silicon continues to dominate large-format display technology, but a-Si:H has a low electron mobility,μ ∼ 1 cm2/V s. Transparent, conducting metal-oxide materials such as Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide (IGZO) have demonstrated electron mobilities of 10-50 cm2/V s and are candidates to replace a-Si:H for TFT backplane technologies. The device performance depends strongly on the type of band alignment of the gate dielectric with the semiconductor channel material and on the band offsets. The factors that determine the conduction and valence band offsets for a given material system are not well understood. Predictions based on various models have historically been unreliable and band offset values must be determined experimentally. This paper provides experimental band offset values for a number of gate dielectrics on IGZO for next generation TFTs. The relationship between band offset and interface quality, as demonstrated experimentally and by previously reported results, is also explained. The literature shows significant variations in reported band offsets and the reasons for these differences are evaluated. The biggest contributor to conduction band offsets is the variation in the bandgap of the dielectrics due to differences in measurement protocols and stoichiometry resulting from different deposition methods, chemistry, and contamination. We have investigated the influence of valence band offset values of strain, defects/vacancies, stoichiometry, chemical bonding, and contamination on IGZO/dielectric heterojunctions. These measurements provide data needed to further develop a predictive theory of band offsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are poised to become the technology of choice in RF and power electronics applications where high operating frequencies and high breakdown voltages are required. The alloyed contacting scheme utilized in the formation of the source and drain contacts of these devices affects the conduction of electrons through the 2DEG from the moment of ohmic contact formation onward to operation in the field. Analysis of the ohmic contacts of as-fabricated and electrically stressed AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, via chemical deprocessing and Scanning Electron Microscopy, indicates the presence of cracks oriented along the [11-20] directions, which nucleate at metal inclusions present under the alloyed ohmic source/drain contact metal. Cracks which form at the edges of these contact regions can extend into the channel region. It appears that electrical biasing induces additional growth in the longest cracks present within the channel regions of these devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The long-term stability of antibody-functionalized, Au-gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors for detecting botulinum toxin is reported in this study. The botulinum toxin sensor, which initially showed good data reproducibility and recyclability, was repeatedly tested over a 9-month period. The botulinum sensor was packaged and stored in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 4°C in a refrigerator for long-term storage. The sensor was tested over time at room temperature and we found sensitivity losses of 2%, 12% and 28% after 3, 6 and 9 months, respectively. These results clearly demonstrate a significant step towards the realization of electronic detection of biomolecules by field-deployed sensor chips based on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have demonstrated a wireless hydrogen sensing system using commercially available wireless components and AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMTs) differential sensing diodes as the sensing devices. The active device in the differential pair is coated with 10nm of Pt to enhance catalytic dissociation of molecular hydrogen, while the reference diode is coated with Ti/Au. Our sensors have a wide range of detection from ppm levels to ∼30%, with the added advantages of a very rapid response time within a couple of seconds, and rapid recovery. The sensors have shown good stability for more than 18 months in an outdoor field test. Currently, the wireless sensing system consists of six wireless sensor nodes and a base station. The wireless sensor node consists of a sensor, a power management system with back-up batteries in case of power outages and a wireless transceiver. The base station consists of a high sensitivity receiver and an in-house developed intelligent monitoring software that does basic data logging and tracking of each individual sensor. The software defines and implements the monitoring states, transitions, and actions of the hydrogen sensor network. Also, the software is able to warn the user of potential sensor failure, power outages and network failures through cell phone network and Internet. Real-time responses of the sensors are displayed through a web site on the Internet. (http://ren.che.ufl.edu/app/default.aspx). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gateless AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures exhibit large changes in source-drain current upon exposing the gate region to various block co-polymer solutions. The polar nature of some of these polymer chains lead to a change of surface charges in gate region on the HEMT, producing a change in surface potential at the semiconductor/liquid interface. The nitride sensors appear to be promising for a wide range of chemical gas, combustion gas, liquid and strain sensing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on 2 in. diameter GaN buffer layers grown by hydride vapor epitaxy (HVPE) on sapphire substrates. HEMTs with 1 μm gate length displayed excellent dc and rf performance uniformity with up to 258 separate devices measured for each parameter. The drain–source saturation current was 561 mA with a standard deviation of 1.9% over the 2 in. diameter, with a corresponding transconductance of 118 ± 3.9 mS/mm. The threshold voltage was −5.3 ± 0.07 V. The rf performance uniformity was equally good, with an fT of 8.6 ± 0.8 GHz and fmax of 12.8 ± 2.5 GHz. The results show the excellent uniformity of the MBE technique for producing AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and also the ability of HVPE to provide high quality buffers at low cost. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The temperature and gate length effects on dc performance of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on AlN/SiC templates or sapphire substrates are reported. The defect density in the structures grown on the AlN/SiC template is significantly lower than those grown on sapphire, as measured by transmission electron microscopy. Reverse breakdown voltages above 40 V were obtained for 0.25 μm gate length devices on both types of substrate. Extrinsic transconductances of ∼200 mS/mm for HEMTs on sapphire and ∼125 mS/mm for devices on AlN/SiC were achieved, with the latter devices showing significantly lower self-heating effects. Both types of HEMTs showed similar trends of drain current and transconductance with increasing temperature. There was a clear signature of optical phonon scattering as the dominant scattering mechanism from room temperature to 300 °C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]