High Voltage Design Strategies for Gallium Oxide Power Devices

This study employs drift-diffusion simulation to investigate key factors influencing the performance of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga2O3 FinFETs, demonstrating that enhancement-mode behavior (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{\mathrm { th}} \gt 0$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) is achievable for <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga2O3 FinFET using a Fin width <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W_{FIN}\leq 0.5~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m and doping concentration <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N_{d}\leq 1\times 10{^{{16}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm-3. Breakdown voltage and output/transfer characteristics are calculated by using drift-diffusion methodology calibrated by experiments. We found that the metal work function (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\varnothing }_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), dielectric constant <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(\kappa)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and unintentional negative interface charge density (-Qf) at the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga2O3/dielectric interface significantly impact Vth, with a high <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\varnothing _{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> being necessary for enhancement mode (E-mode) operation. To achieve 5kV breakdown, a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W_{FIN}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 200 nm requires a fin thickness <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(T_{FIN})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.8~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m, a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W_{FIN}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 400 nm requires <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{FIN} {\gt }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.2~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m, and a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W_{FIN}\ {\gt }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> 600 nm requires <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{FIN}\ {\gt }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m. From <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$W_{FIN}\ $ </tex-math></inline-formula>of 200 nm to 400 nm, DIBL (drain induced barrier lowering, i.e., Vth /Vds) increases by 300%, while from 400 to 600 nm, it rises by only 100%. The presence of -Qf enhances the breakdown voltage by mitigating DIBL-related failure mechanisms and by redistributing the electric potential away from the gate dielectric and deeper into the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga2O3 drift region. A controllable and relatively defect-free process was developed for Ga2O3 metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures, enabling improved interface quality. Capacitance–voltage measurements and progressive annealing studies demonstrate enhanced device stability and reduced hysteresis for the proposed FinFET application. Finally, an optimized <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-Ga2O3 fin etch process was developed on the KLA SPTS SynapsEtch™ module for Ga2O3 technology integration.