On degradation and reliability testing GaN High-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT)

Gallium nitride (GaN) based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have shown a lot of promise in high voltage, high power, and high radiation applications. However, the full realization of the III-nitride potential and large-scale adoption of this technology has been hindered by the existence of electrically active defects that manifest as deep levels in the energy bandgap. These deep levels can potentially act as charge trapping centers limiting device performance and long-term reliability. It is therefore imperative to monitor these traps in operational GaN HEMTs as close as possible to their real-world operational conditions. With that goal in mind, in this work, a suite of advanced thermal and optical-based trap spectroscopy methods and models are reported and expanded upon to directly probe and track traps in three-terminal operational of GaN HEMTs.