Improvement of AlGaN/GaN HEMT Noise Figure Using Thick Cu Metallization for Satellite Communication Applications

Howie Tseng, Yueh Chin Lin, Chieh Cheng, Po Wei Chen, Heng Tung Hsu, Yi Fan Tsao, Edward Yi Chang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) with thick Cu metallization is investigated, and the Radio Frequency (RF) performance and the reliability are analyzed. By applying thick Cu metallization of 6.0μm as interconnect, the cut-off frequency (fT), the maximum oscillation frequency (fmax), and the power performance can be improved. Besides, the thick-Cu-metallized device exhibits reduced minimum noise figure (NFmin) of 0.7, 1.0, 2.2 and 2.8 dB at 12, 14, 28 and 38 GHz, respectively, which can be attributed to the reduction of the source and drain resistance caused by thick Cu metallization. Furthermore, for stress test under high drain-to-source voltage (VDS) and high temperature, the proposed device exhibits good stability. The results show that the thick Cu metallization technology has great potential to be applied in satellite communication system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)268-274
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE Journal of the Electron Devices Society
Volume12
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Keywords

  • AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC
  • Cu metallization
  • minimum noise figure

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Improvement of AlGaN/GaN HEMT Noise Figure Using Thick Cu Metallization for Satellite Communication Applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this