Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate Research Areas

Reliability of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Devices

Advisor: Jones, Kenneth A (Ken.a.jones@us.army.mil 301-394-2005)
Keywords: Reliability; GaN; SiC; Materials/device correlations

Wide bandgap semiconductors have the potential to generate more power at high frequencies, handle high power more efficiently, and operate at higher temperatures than the semiconductors presently being used for these applications. Devices made from the wide bandgap semiconductors, GaN and SiC, have not yet reached their potential because the material still contains a number of crystalline defects, the processing is immature, and the piezoelectric properties of GaN and AlGaN can create problems associated with high strains. We attempt to understand how these grown-in and process or piezoelectric induced defects affect the properties of the devices and cause them to deteriorate by characterizing the material in the device structures as well as the devices fabricated from them, and try to correlate these measurements. We have a number of sophisticated microanalysis, electrical, and optical measurement systems to characterize the material, as well as sophisticated DC and high-frequency measurement systems to characterize the devices along with sophisticated systems that can be used to stress devices both thermally and electrically over long periods of time. We coordinate our efforts with work done at the other service research labs, NRL and AFRL, and we are often asked to test cutting edge devices from leaders in the field of wide bandgap semiconductor device development for DARPA.