Comparative Study of Proton and Heavy Ion-induced Damages for GaN-based HEMTs

The variations of the radiation damage induced by radiation from protons and heavy ions on Cascode GaN HEMTs are comparatively studied. 300 MeV proton and 500 MeV heavy ion irradiation are carried out for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Findings from the study indicate that exposure to a proton flux of 300 MeV, reaching a cumulative level of 1×10¹¹ cm^-2, leads to a reduction in the output current. Concurrently, there is a downward adjustment of 0.27 volts in the turn-on voltage, along with a 5.59% decline in the peak transconductance. Following irradiation, the creation of traps within the device’s channel layer results in a decline in its electrical efficiency. Under 500 MeV heavy ion irradiation with a total fluence of 3.167×10⁵cm^-2, a significant leakage current increase is observed when a drain bias of 100 volts is applied. An enhancement in the output current is observed, accompanied by a 0.11V downward adjustment in the voltage at which the channel forms and a significant 70.17% diminution in peak transconductance. Additionally, instances of single event burnout (SEB) are detectable when the drain bias exceeds 150 V.