Design of GaN based high electron mobility transistors for future high power microwave applications

Abstract

In recent years, the efforts of researchers are directed towards the GaN-based High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). Owing the unique combination of high electron mobility and high breakdown voltages of GaN-based HEMTs, offering a viable solution for next generation high power and high speed applications such as, satellite telecommunications, high power amplifiers for radar, microwave image sensing, military electronic systems and low noise wide bandwidth amplifiers design for future high power microwave communications. The GaN-based High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) had demonstrated outstanding high power radio frequency performance (RF) that makes an attractive candidate for future high power millimeter wave applications. In this research, the effort is taken to improve the cut-off frequency of GaN-based HEMT. The main objective is of this research work is to design GaN-based HEMTs for future high power microwave applications and the techniques used for achieving these objectives are gate engineering, bandgap engineering, and source/drain engineering. Gate Engineering: The gate engineering plays important role in RF characteristics of the device. To achieve the higher current gain cut-off frequency and power gain cut-off frequency, gate access resistance should be small. Bandgap Engineering: The optimization of HEMT structures through aggressive scaling together with band gap engineering is a key solution to achieve low noise, high speed, and high power operation newline newline newline