Effects of Low-Damage Plasma Treatment on the Channel 2DEG and Device Characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

We investigate the effects of remote nitride-based plasma treatment on the channel carrier and device characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). A 200 W NH₃/N₂ remote plasma causes little degeneration of carrier mobility and an increase in electron density due to surface alteration, which results in a decrease in sheet resistance and an increase in output current by 20–30%. Improved current slump, suppressed gate leakage current, and improved Schottky contact properties are also achieved by using low-damage nitride-based plasma treatment. It is found that NH₃/N₂ remote plasma treatment is a promising technique for GaN-based HEMTs to modulate the surface conditions and channel properties. (paper)