Evaluation of High-Temperature High-Frequency GaN-Based LC-Oscillator Components.

In this work, an evaluation of the performance of discrete elements intended for an L-band high-temperature GaN-based LC-oscillator is carried out between room temperature and 300 °C. GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on sapphire substrate, metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors, thin-film inductors, and resistors on sapphire and quartz substrates are fabricated and characterized through dc and S-parameter measurements up to 20 GHz. The GaN HEMTs on sapphire achieved ƒ_t of 18 GHz and ƒ_max of 30 GHz at room temperature and ƒ_t of 11 GHz and ƒ_max of 21 GHz at 300 °C while maintaining dc gate leakage below 0.1 mA/mm at 300 °C. MIM capacitors are characterized at temperatures up to 300 °C and at frequencies up to 10 MHz, showing stable capacitance values with changes as small as 1.37% over the entire temperature range. Planar spiral inductors are characterized using S-parameter measurements up to 20 GHz and 300 °C. While a temperature stable maximum oscillation frequency above 1 GHz is achieved, the quality factor degrades by up to 48% at 300 °C. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the inductor is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]