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Thermal Modeling of III-nitride Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

T. Li
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
P.P. Ruden
Affiliation:
Electronics Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375
J.D. Albrecht
Affiliation:
Electronics Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375
M.G. Ancona
Affiliation:
Electronics Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375
R. Anholt
Affiliation:
Gateway Modeling Inc., 1604 East River Terrace, Minneapolis, MN 55414
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Abstract

The output characteristics of AlGaN/GaN semiconductor heterostructure field effect transistors are strongly dependent on the ambient temperature of the channel region due to relatively large variations in the electron drift velocity with temperature. A model to simulate the heat flow in AlGaN/GaN HFETs on sapphire and SiC substrates is presented. The non- linearity of the problem arising from the temperature dependencies of the III-nitride and substrate thermal conductivities is examined through the technique of self-consistent boundary conditions. It is found that the use of the linearizing Kirchhoff transformation is a good approximation for these systems. Alternative approaches of heatsinking the devices from the top of the wafer are explored also.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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