GaAs device reliability: High electron mobility transistors and heterojunction bipolar transistors

Abstract

The two main GaAs-based electronic device technologies are high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Both technologies are commercialized for use in low-noise amplifiers, radar, and fiber optic data transmission systems. In this chapter, we will summarize the degradation mechanisms that limit the lifetime of these devices. A variety of contact and surface degradation mechanisms have been reported but differ in the two device technologies - for HEMTs, the layers are thin and relatively lightly doped compared to HBT structures, and there is a metal Schottky gate that is directly on the semiconductor. By contrast, the HBT relies on pn junctions for current modulation and has only ohmic contacts. This leads to different degradation mechanisms for the two types of devices.