Search for: All records

NiO/β-(Al x Ga 1− x ) 2 O 3 /Ga 2 O 3 heterojunction lateral geometry rectifiers with diameter 50–100  μm exhibited maximum reverse breakdown voltages >7 kV, showing the advantage of increasing the bandgap using the β-(Al x Ga 1− x ) 2 O 3 alloy. This Si-doped alloy layer was grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition with an Al composition of ∼21%. On-state resistances were in the range of 50–2180 Ω cm 2 , leading to power figures-of-merit up to 0.72 MW cm −2 . The forward turn-on voltage was in the range of 2.3–2.5 V, with maximum on/off ratios >700 when switching from 5 V forward to reverse biases up to −100 V. Transmission line measurements showed the specific contact resistance was 0.12 Ω cm 2 . The breakdown voltage is among the highest reported for any lateral geometry Ga 2 O 3 -based rectifier.

Power semiconductor devices are fundamental drivers for advances in power electronics, the technology for electric energy conversion. Power devices based on wide-bandgap (WBG) and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors allow for a smaller chip size, lower loss and higher frequency compared with their silicon (Si) counterparts, thus enabling a higher system efficiency and smaller form factor. Amongst the challenges for the development and deployment of WBG and UWBG devices is the efficient dissipation of heat, an unavoidable by-product of the higher power density. To mitigate the performance limitations and reliability issues caused by self-heating, thermal management is required at both device and package levels. Packaging in particular is a crucial milestone for the development of any power device technology; WBG and UWBG devices have both reached this milestone recently. This paper provides a timely review of the thermal management of WBG and UWBG power devices with an emphasis on packaged devices. Additionally, emerging UWBG devices hold good promise for high-temperature applications due to their low intrinsic carrier density and increased dopant ionization at elevated temperatures. The fulfillment of this promise in system applications, in conjunction with overcoming the thermal limitations of some UWBG materials, requires new thermal management and packagingmore »technologies. To this end, we provide perspectives on the relevant challenges, potential solutions and research opportunities, highlighting the pressing needs for device–package electrothermal co-design and high-temperature packages that can withstand the high electric fields expected in UWBG devices.

« less

Halide vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) Ga 2 O 3 films were grown on c-plane sapphire and diamond substrates at temperatures up to 550 °C without the use of a barrier dielectric layer to protect the diamond surface. Corundum phase α-Ga 2 O 3 was grown on the sapphire substrates, whereas the growth on diamond resulted in regions of nanocrystalline β-Ga 2 O 3 (nc-β-Ga 2 O 3 ) when oxygen was present in the HVPE reactor only during film growth. X-ray diffraction confirmed the growth of α-Ga 2 O 3 on sapphire but failed to detect any β-Ga 2 O 3 reflections from the films grown on diamond. These films were further characterized via Raman spectroscopy, which revealed the β-Ga 2 O 3 phase of these films. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the nanocrystalline character of these films. From cathodoluminescence spectra, three emission bands, UVL′, UVL, and BL, were observed for both the α-Ga 2 O 3 /sapphire and nc-Ga 2 O 3 /diamond, and these bands were centered at approximately 3.7, 3.2, and 2.7 eV.

AlN thin films are enabling significant progress in modern optoelectronics, power electronics, and microelectromechanical systems. The various AlN growth methods and conditions lead to different film microstructures. In this report, phonon scattering mechanisms that impact the cross-plane (κ z ; along the c-axis) and in-plane (κ r ; parallel to the c-plane) thermal conductivities of AlN thin films prepared by various synthesis techniques are investigated. In contrast to bulk single crystal AlN with an isotropic thermal conductivity of ∼330 W/m K, a strong anisotropy in the thermal conductivity is observed in the thin films. The κ z shows a strong film thickness dependence due to phonon-boundary scattering. Electron microscopy reveals the presence of grain boundaries and dislocations that limit the κ r . For instance, oriented films prepared by reactive sputtering possess lateral crystalline grain sizes ranging from 20 to 40 nm that significantly lower the κ r to ∼30 W/m K. Simulation results suggest that the self-heating in AlN film bulk acoustic resonators can significantly impact the power handling capability of RF filters. A device employing an oriented film as the active piezoelectric layer shows an ∼2.5× higher device peak temperature as compared to a device based on an epitaxial film.

Abstract There are many applications throughout the military and commercial industries whose thermal profiles are dominated by intermittent and/or periodic pulsed thermal loads. Typical thermal solutions for transient applications focus on providing sufficient continuous cooling to address the peak thermal loads as if operating under steady-state conditions. Such a conservative approach guarantees satisfying the thermal challenge but can result in significant cooling overdesign, thus increasing the size, weight, and cost of the system. Confluent trends of increasing system complexity, component miniaturization, and increasing power density demands are further exacerbating the divergence of the optimal transient and steady-state solutions. Therefore, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way thermal and packaging engineers approach design to focus on time domain heat transfer design and solutions. Due to the application-dependent nature of transient thermal solutions, it is essential to use a codesign approach such that the thermal and packaging engineers collaborate during the design phase with application and/or electronics engineers to ensure the solution meets the requirements. This paper will provide an overview of the types of transients to consider—from the transients that occur during switching at the chip surface all the way to the system-level transients which transfer heat tomore »air. The paper will cover numerous ways of managing transient heat including phase change materials (PCMs), heat exchangers, advanced controls, and capacitance-based packaging. Moreover, synergies exist between approaches to include application of PCMs to increase thermal capacitance or active control mechanisms that are adapted and optimized for the time constants and needs of the specific application. It is the intent of this transient thermal management review to describe a wide range of areas in which transient thermal management for electronics is a factor of significance and to illustrate which specific implementations of transient thermal solutions are being explored for each area. The paper focuses on the needs and benefits of fundamentally shifting away from a steady-state thermal design mentality to one focused on transient thermal design through application-specific, codesigned approaches.« less

Abstract Gallium nitride (GaN) has emerged as one of the most attractive base materials for next-generation high-power and high-frequency electronic devices. Recent efforts have focused on realizing vertical power device structures such as in situ oxide, GaN interlayer based vertical trench metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (OG-FETs). Unfortunately, the higher-power density of GaN electronics inevitably leads to considerable device self-heating which impacts device performance and reliability. Halide vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) is currently the most common approach for manufacturing commercial GaN substrates used to build vertical GaN transistors. Vertical device structures consist of GaN layers of diverse doping levels. Hence, it is of crucial importance to measure and understand how the dopant type (Si, Fe, and Mg), doping level, and crystal quality alter the thermal conductivity of HVPE-grown bulk GaN. In this work, a steady-state thermoreflectance (SSTR) technique was used to measure the thermal conductivity of HVPE-grown GaN substrates employing different doping schemes and levels. Structural and electrical characterization methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), Raman spectroscopy, and Hall-effect measurements were used to determine and compare the GaN crystal quality, dislocation density, doping level, and carrier concentration. Using this comprehensive suite of characterization methods, the interrelation among structural/electrical parameters andmore »the thermal conductivity of bulk GaN substrates was investigated. While doping is evidenced to reduce the GaN thermal conductivity, the highest thermal conductivity (201 W/mK) is observed in a heavily Si-doped (1–5.00 × 1018 cm−3) substrate with the highest crystalline quality. This suggests that phonon-dislocation scattering dominates over phonon-impurity scattering in the tested HVPE-grown bulk GaN substrates. The results provide useful information for designing thermal management solutions for vertical GaN power electronic devices.« less

Abstract Researchers have been extensively studying wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) with an aim to accomplish an improvement in size, weight, and power of power electronics beyond current devices based on silicon (Si). However, the increased operating power densities and reduced areal footprints of WBG device technologies result in significant levels of self-heating that can ultimately restrict device operation through performance degradation, reliability issues, and failure. Typically, self-heating in WBG devices is studied using a single measurement technique while operating the device under steady-state direct current measurement conditions. However, for switching applications, this steady-state thermal characterization may lose significance since the high power dissipation occurs during fast transient switching events. Therefore, it can be useful to probe the WBG devices under transient measurement conditions in order to better understand the thermal dynamics of these systems in practical applications. In this work, the transient thermal dynamics of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) were studied using thermoreflectance thermal imaging and Raman thermometry. Also, the proper use of iterative pulsed measurement schemes such as thermoreflectance thermal imaging to determine the steady-state operating temperature of devices is discussed. These studies are followed with subsequent transient thermal characterization tomore »accurately probe the self-heating from steady-state down to submicrosecond pulse conditions using both thermoreflectance thermal imaging and Raman thermometry with temporal resolutions down to 15 ns.« less