Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs
The role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation in in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN-based metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) to improve the device performance and protect the device from severe degradation under high-energy X-ray irradiation has been investigated. Here, the root...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2025
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182502 |
| _version_ | 1824455099669282816 |
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| author | Dalapati, Pradip Li, Hanchao Arulkumaran, Subramaniam Ng, Geok Ing |
| author2 | School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dalapati, Pradip Li, Hanchao Arulkumaran, Subramaniam Ng, Geok Ing |
| author_sort | Dalapati, Pradip |
| collection | NTU |
| description | The role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation in in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN-based metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) to improve the device performance and protect the device from severe degradation under high-energy X-ray irradiation has been investigated. Here, the root cause and mechanism for the degradation have been studied utilizing different material/device characterizations. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest that several Si-N bonds in stoichiometric Si3N4 and Hf-O bonds in HfO2 passivation film can be broken under X-ray irradiation, where numerous charges might be trapped easily and deteriorate the interface quality. Furthermore, due to the generation of chemical vacancies under X-ray, a band tail near the edge of valence band maximum in Si3N4 and HfO2 films can be created. The obtained results suggest that MIS-HEMT fabricated with an atomic layer deposited (ALD)-HfO2 (MIS-HEMT B) has relatively greater performance compared to MIS-HEMT fabricated without ex-situ HfO2 (MIS-HEMT A) according to the higher maximum drain current (Idmax), peak transconductance (gmmax) and lower current collapse, denoting the effectiveness of ALD-HfO2 to passivate the surface traps. It is noticed that X-ray irradiation induces numerous negative charges in the dielectric layers and degrades the device performance. Interestingly, after X-ray irradiation, the degradation rates in Idmax, gmmax, and current collapse are significantly lower in MIS-HEMT B compared to MIS-HEMT A, suggesting the potential irradiation hardening mechanism of ALD-HfO2 to protect the MIS-HEMTs from unexpected degradations during X-ray irradiation. Finally, these results emphasize the importance of high-quality dielectric films in MIS-HEMTs to enhance the device performance and safeguard the device under high-energy irradiation, especially in the space environment. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:32:49Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/182502 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:32:49Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1825022025-02-05T02:45:49Z Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs Dalapati, Pradip Li, Hanchao Arulkumaran, Subramaniam Ng, Geok Ing School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Temasek Laboratories @ NTU Engineering X-ray-induced defect formation Charge trapping The role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation in in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN-based metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) to improve the device performance and protect the device from severe degradation under high-energy X-ray irradiation has been investigated. Here, the root cause and mechanism for the degradation have been studied utilizing different material/device characterizations. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest that several Si-N bonds in stoichiometric Si3N4 and Hf-O bonds in HfO2 passivation film can be broken under X-ray irradiation, where numerous charges might be trapped easily and deteriorate the interface quality. Furthermore, due to the generation of chemical vacancies under X-ray, a band tail near the edge of valence band maximum in Si3N4 and HfO2 films can be created. The obtained results suggest that MIS-HEMT fabricated with an atomic layer deposited (ALD)-HfO2 (MIS-HEMT B) has relatively greater performance compared to MIS-HEMT fabricated without ex-situ HfO2 (MIS-HEMT A) according to the higher maximum drain current (Idmax), peak transconductance (gmmax) and lower current collapse, denoting the effectiveness of ALD-HfO2 to passivate the surface traps. It is noticed that X-ray irradiation induces numerous negative charges in the dielectric layers and degrades the device performance. Interestingly, after X-ray irradiation, the degradation rates in Idmax, gmmax, and current collapse are significantly lower in MIS-HEMT B compared to MIS-HEMT A, suggesting the potential irradiation hardening mechanism of ALD-HfO2 to protect the MIS-HEMTs from unexpected degradations during X-ray irradiation. Finally, these results emphasize the importance of high-quality dielectric films in MIS-HEMTs to enhance the device performance and safeguard the device under high-energy irradiation, especially in the space environment. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) This research/project is supported by A*STAR under the RIE2025 Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Programmatic Fund (Award M21K6b0134). 2025-02-05T02:45:49Z 2025-02-05T02:45:49Z 2025 Journal Article Dalapati, P., Li, H., Arulkumaran, S. & Ng, G. I. (2025). Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs. Applied Surface Science, 681, 161532-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.161532 0169-4332 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182502 10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.161532 2-s2.0-85206802530 681 161532 en M21K6b0134 Applied Surface Science © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. |
| spellingShingle | Engineering X-ray-induced defect formation Charge trapping Dalapati, Pradip Li, Hanchao Arulkumaran, Subramaniam Ng, Geok Ing Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title | Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title_full | Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title_fullStr | Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title_short | Role of ex-situ HfO2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress X-ray-induced degradation characteristics of in-situ Si3N4/AlN/GaN MIS-HEMTs |
| title_sort | role of ex situ hfo2 passivation to improve device performance and suppress x ray induced degradation characteristics of in situ si3n4 aln gan mis hemts |
| topic | Engineering X-ray-induced defect formation Charge trapping |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182502 |
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