Design and control of interface reaction between Al-based dielectrics and AlGaN layer for hysteresis-free AlGaN/GaN MOS-HFETs

Watanabe, Kenta*; Nozaki, Mikito*; Yamada, Takahiro*; Nakazawa, Satoshi*; Anda, Yoshiharu*; Ishida, Masahiro*; Ueda, Tetsuzo*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Hosoi, Takuji*; Shimura, Takayoshi*; Watanabe, Heiji*

AlGaN/GaN HFET has gained much attention as next-generation high frequency and high power devices. Among various insulating materials, AlO is one of the potential candidates. However, large amount of electrical defects at MOS interfaces severely degrade both drive current and threshold voltage stability. Positive Vth shift due to electron trapping in AlO layer by applying positive gate bias is often observed for AlO/AlGaN/GaN MOS structures. We have recently reported that N incorporation into AlO significantly reduces electron traps in AlO layer for Si and SiC MOS devices. In this study, we systematically investigated the interface reaction between Al-based dielectrics (AlO and AlON) and AlGaN layer during deposition and post-deposition annealing (PDA), and revealed high thermal stability of AlON/AlGaN interface.