Investigating the Failure Mechanism of p-GaN Gate HEMTs under High Power Stress with a Transparent ITO Gate

The channel temperature distribution and breakdown points are difficult to monitor for the traditional p-GaN gate HEMTs under high power stress, because the metal gate blocks the light. To solve this problem, we processed p-GaN gate HEMTs with transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) as the gate terminal and successfully captured the information mentioned above, utilizing ultraviolet reflectivity thermal imaging equipment. The fabricated ITO-gated HEMTs exhibited a saturation drain current of 276 mA/mm and an on-resistance of 16.6 Ω·mm. During the test, the heat was found to concentrate in the vicinity of the gate field in the access area, under the stress of V(GS) = 6 V and V(DS) = 10/20/30 V. After 691 s high power stress, the device failed, and a hot spot appeared on the p-GaN. After failure, luminescence was observed on the sidewall of the p-GaN while positively biasing the gate, revealing the side wall is the weakest spot under high power stress. The findings of this study provide a powerful tool for reliability analysis and also point to a way for improving the reliability of the p-GaN gate HEMTs in the future.