Wide-bandgap semiconductors have made and are continuing to make a major impact on the power electronics world. The most common commercially available wide-bandgap semiconductors for power electronics applications are SiC and GaN devices. This paper focuses on the newest devices emerging that are made with these wide-bandgap materials. The static and dynamic characterization of six different SiC MOSFETs from different manufacturers are presented. The static characterization consists of the output characteristics, transfer characteristics and device capacitances. High temperature (up to 150 °C) static characterization provides an insight into the dependence of threshold voltage and on-state resistance on temperature. The dynamic characterizations of the devices are conducted by performing the double-pulse test. The switching characteristics are also tested at high temperature, with the presented results putting an emphasis on one of the devices. A comparison of the key characterization results summarizes the performance of the different devices. The characterization of one of the SiC MOSFETs is then continued with a short-circuit failure mode operation test. The device is subjected to non-destructive and destructive pulses to see how the device behaves. The non-destructive tests include a look at the performance under different external gate resistances and drain-source voltages. It is found that as the external gate resistance is increased, the waveforms get noisier. Also, as the drain-source voltage is increased, the maximum short-circuit current level rises. The destructive tests find the amount of time that the device is able to withstand short-circuit operation. At room temperature the device is able to withstand 4.5 μs whereas at 100 °C, the device is able to withstand 4.2 μs. It is found that despite the different conditions that the device is tested at for destructive tests, the energy that they can withstand is similar. This paper also presents the static and dynamic characterization of a 600 V, 2A, normallyoff, vertical gallium-nitride (GaN) transistor. A description of the fabrication process and the setup used to test the device are presented. The fabricated vertical GaN transistor has a threshold voltage of 3.3 V, a breakdown voltage of 600 V, an on-resistance of 880 mΩ, switching speeds up to 97 V/ns, and turn-on and turn-off switching losses of 8.12 µJ and 3.04 µJ, respectively, demonstrating the great potential of this device / MS

Decreasing reserves of natural resources drives the oil and gas industry to drill deeper and deeper to reach unexploited wells. Coupled with the demand for substantial real-time data transmission, the need for high speed electronics able to operating in harsher ambient environment is quickly on the rise. This paper presents a high temperature VCO for downhole communication system. The proposed VCO is designed and prototyped using 0.25 μm GaN on SiC RF transistor which has extremely high junction temperature capability. Measurements show that the proposed VCO can operate reliably under ambient temperature from 25 °C up to 230 °C and is tunable from 328 MHz to 353 Mhz. The measured output power is 18 dBm with ±1 dB variations over entire covered temperature and frequency range. Measured phase noise at 230 °C is from -121 dBc/Hz to -109 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz offset. / Master of Science

As the current requirements of power devices are moving towards high frequency, high efficiency and high-power density, Silicon-based devices are reaching its limits which are instigating the need to move towards new materials. Gallium Nitride (GaN) has the potential to meet the growing demands due to the wide band-gap nature which leads to various enhanced material properties like, higher operational temperature, smaller dimensions, faster operation and efficient performance. The metal contacts on semiconductors are essential as the interface properties affect the semiconductor performance and device operation. The low resistance ohmic contacts for n-GaN have been well established while most p-GaN devices have still high contact resistivity. Significant work has not been found that focuses on software-based modeling of the device to analyze the contact resistance and implement methods to reduce the contact resistivity. Understanding the interface physics in n-GaN devices using simulations can help in understanding the contacts on p-GaN and eventually reduce its metal contact resistivity. In this work, modeling of the metal-semiconductor interface along with the effect of a heavily doped layer under the metal contact is presented. The extent of reduction in contact resistivity due to different doping and thickness of n++ layer is presented with simulations. These results have been verified by the growth of device based on simulation results and reduction in contact resistivity has been observed. The effect of different TLM pattern along with different annealing conditions is presented in the work. / Master of Science

GaN has the potential to revolutionize the high power electronics industry, enabling high voltage applications and better power conversion efficiency due to its intrinsic material properties and newly available high purity bulk substrates. However, unintentional impurity incorporation needs to be reduced. This reduction can be accomplished by reducing the source of contamination and exploration of extreme growth conditions which reduce the incorporation of these contaminants. Newly available bulk substrates with low threading dislocations allow for better study of material properties, as opposed to material whose properties are dominated by structural and chemical defects. In addition, very thick films can be grown without cracking due to exact lattice and thermal expansion coefficient match. Through chemical and electrical measurements, this work aims to find growth conditions which reduces contamination without a severe impact on growth rate, which is an important factor from an industry standpoint. The proposed thicknesses of these devices are on the order of one hundred microns and requires tight control of the intentional dopants. / Doctor of Philosophy / GaN is a compound semiconductor which has the potential to revolutionize the high power electronics industry, enabling new applications and energy savings due to its inherent material properties. However, material quality and purity requires improvement. This improvement can be accomplished by reducing contamination and growing under extreme conditions. Newly available bulk substrates with low defects allow for better study of material properties. In addition, very thick films can be grown without cracking on these substrates due to exact lattice and thermal expansion coefficient match. Through chemical and electrical measurements, this work aims to find optimal growth conditions for high purity GaN without a severe impact on growth rate, which is an important factor from an industry standpoint. The proposed thicknesses of these devices are on the order of one hundred microns and requires tight control of impurities.

As the oil and gas industry continues to explore higher temperature environments, electronics that operate at those temperatures without additional cooling become critical. Additionally, current communications systems cannot support the higher data-rates being offered by advancements in sensor technology. An RF modem would be capable of supplying the necessary bandwidth to support the higher data-rate. A voltage-controlled oscillator is an essential part of an RF modem. This thesis presents a 2.336-2.402 GHz voltage-controlled oscillator constructed with 0.25 μm GaN-on-SiC technology high electron mobility transistor (HEMTs). The measured operating temperature range was from 25°C to 225°C. A minimum tuning range of 66 MHz, less than 20% variation in output power, and harmonics more than 20 dB down from the fundamental is observed. The phase noise is between -88 and -101 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset at 225°C. This is the highest frequency oscillator that operates simultaneously at high temperatures reported in literature. / Master of Science / The oil and gas industry require communications systems to transmit data collected from sensors in deep wells to the surface. However, the temperatures of these wells can be more than 210 °C. Traditional Silicon based circuits are unable to operate at these temperatures for a prolonged period. Advancements in wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices enable entrance into this realm of high temperature electronics. One such WBG technology is Gallium Nitride (GaN) which offers simultaneous high temperature and high frequency performance. These properties make GaN an ideal technology for a high temperature RF modem. A voltage-controlled oscillator is an essential part of a RF modem. This thesis demonstrates a GaN-based 2.36 GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) whose performance has been measured over a temperature range of 25°C-225°C. This is the highest frequency oscillator that operates simultaneously at high temperatures reported in literature.

GaN and its alloys with Al and In belong to the group III nitride semiconductors and are today the materials of choice for efficient white light emitting diodes (LEDs) enabling energy saving solid state lighting. Currently, there is a great interest in the development of novel inexpensive techniques to fabricate hybrid LEDs combining high quality III-N quantum well (QW) structures with inexpensive colloidal nanoparticles or conjugated polymers. Such hybrid devices are promising for future micro-light sources in full-color displays, sensors and imaging systems. Organics can be engineered to emit at different wavelengths or even white light based on functional groups or by blend of several polymers. This is especially important for the green region, where there is still a lack of efficient LEDs. Besides optoelectronics, other applications such as biochemical sensors or systems for water splitting can be realized using GaN-based nanostructures. Despite a significant progress in the field, there is still a need in fundamental understanding of many problems and phenomena in III-nitride based nanostructures and hybrids to fully utilize material properties on demand of specific applications. In this thesis, hybrid structures based on AlGaN/GaN QWs and colloidal ZnO nano-crystals have been fabricated for down conversion of the QW emission utilizing non-radiative (Förster) resonant energy transfer. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) was used to investigate the QW exciton dynamics depending on the cap layer thickness in the bare QW and in the hybrid samples. Although the surface potential influences the exciton dynamics, the maximum pumping efficiency assuming a non-radiative energy transfer mechanism was estimated to be ~40 % at 60 K in the structure with thin cap layer of 3 nm. Since bulk GaN of large area is difficult to synthesize, there is a lack of native substrates. Thus, GaN-based structures are usually grown on SiC or sapphire, which results in high threading dislocation density in the active layer of the device and can be the reason of efficiency droop in GaN based LED structures. Fabricating GaN nanorods (NR) can be a way to produce GaN with lower defect density since threading dislocations can be annihilated toward the NR wall during growth. Here, GaN(0001) NRs grown on Si(111) substrates by magnetron sputtering using a liquid Ga target have been investigated. A high quality of NRs have been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and TRPL. Two strong near band gap emission lines at ~3.42 eV and ~3.47 eV related to basal plane stacking faults (SF) and donor-bound exciton (DBE), respectively, have been observed at low temperatures. TRPL properties of the SF PL line suggest that SFs form a regular structure similar to a multiple QWs, which was confirmed by TEM. The SF related PL measured at 5 K for a single NR has a significantly different polarization response compared to the GaN exciton line and is much stronger polarized (> 40 %) in the direction perpendicular to the NR growth axis. Hybrids fabricated using GaN NRs and the green emitting polyfluorene (F8BT) have been studied using micro-TRPL. In contrast to the DBE emission, the recombination time of the SF-related emission was observed to decrease, which might be due to the Förster resonance energy transfer mechanism. Compared to chemical vapor deposition, sputtering allows synthesis at much lower temperatures. Here, sputtering was employed to grow InAlN/GaN heterostructures with an indium content targeted to ~18 %, which is lattice matched to GaN. This means that near strain-free GaN films can be synthesized. It was found that using a lower temperature (~25 C) while depositing the top InAlN results in an improved interface quality compared to deposition at 700 C. In latter case, regions of quaternary alloy of InAlGaN forming structural micro-defects have been observed at the top InAlN/GaN interface in addition to optically active flower-like defect formations.

Diese Arbeit beschreibt das MBE-Wachstum und die Charakterisierung von Gruppe-III-Nitrid-Nanostrukturen. Die Arbeit beginnt mit dem katalysatorfreien Wachstum von GaN-Nanowires (NW) auf Si(111) mittels MBE. Es wird gezeigt, dass GaN NW als sph\"arische Inseln nukleieren und im weiteren Wachstum in eine NW-Geometrie übergehen. Die amorphe Zwischenschicht führt zum Verlust der epitaktischen Ausrichtung und somit zu gekippten Säulen und Koaleszenz. Diese Koaleszenz führt zur Enstehung von Versetzungen und Stapelfehlern in den Nanosäulen, welche einen starken Einfluss auf die optischen Eigenschaften haben: Während Versetzungen die Säulen optisch passivieren, haben Stapelfehler charakteristische Emissionen. Durch Kombination von Elektronenmikroskopie und Cathodolumineszenz wird die charateristische Wellenlänge eines Stapelfehlers gemessen. Epitaktisches Wachstum von GaN auf Si(111) kann durch die Verwendung einer AlN-Pufferschicht erreicht werden. Die Nukleation von GaN auf AlN/Si geschieht als linsenförmige Inseln. Im weiteren Verlauf des Wachstums erfolgen mehrere charakteristische Formübergänge, bei denen Facetten gebildet werden, um die Verspannung durch Gitterfehlanpassung elastisch zu relaxieren. Bei einer kritischen Inselgröße (und damit bei einem kritischen Spannungszustand) tritt eine platische Relaxation ein und es wird eine Versetzung an der AlN/GaN-Grenzfläche gebildet. Daraufhin tritt ein Übergang zur NW-Geometrie ein. Der dritte Teil dieser Arbeit beschreibt das Wachstum von (In,Ga)N/GaN NW Heterostrukturen. Mit MBE werden GaN NW mit zwei (In,Ga)N-Einschlüssen gewachsen. Die chemische Zusammensetzung wird mittels einer Kombination von hochauflösender Röntgenbeugung und einer Gitterverzerrungsanalyse von hochaufgelösten transmissionselektronenmikroskopischen Aufnahmen bestimmt. Die Strukturanalyse zeigt, dass die (In,Ga)N-Einschlüsse vollkommen in die GaN-Matrix eingebettet sind, und dass keine plastische Relaxation stattfindet. / This work covers the MBE growth and characterization of group III-nitride nanostructures. The work begins with the catalyst-free growth of GaN nanowires (NWs) on Si(111) by plasma-assisted MBE. The importance of substrate preparation and the formation of an amorphous SiN interlayer are described. GaN NWs are shown to nucleate as spherical islands and to furhter undergo a shape transition towards the NW geometry. The amorphous interlayer leads to a loss in epitaxial alignment and thus to NW tilt and coalescence. Coalescence leads to the formation of dislocations and stacking faults (SFs) in the NWs which greatly affect their optical properties. Dislocations are shown to have a detrimental effect on the optical quality, whereas SFs are shown to have a characteristic emission wavelength. Epitaxial growth of GaN on Si(111) can be achieved by using an AlN buffer layer. The nucleation and growth GaN NWs on AlN-buffered Si(111) is shown to happen via the pseudomorphical nucleation of spherical islands. As these islands grow, they undergo several characteristical shape changes, with the formation of facets in order to elastically relieve the lattice-mismatch induced strain. At a critical island size (and thus strain level), plastic relaxation happens by the formation of a misfit dislocation at the AlN/GaN interface. A subsequent transition to the NW geometry is observed, driven by the anisotropy of surface energies. The third part of this work covers the growth of (In,Ga)N/GaN NW heterostructures. GaN NWs with two stacked (In,Ga)N insertions are grown by MBE. The chemical composition is assessed by combining synchrotron-based HRXRD and a geometrical phase analysis of HRTEM micrographs. The structural analysis reveals that the (In,Ga)N insertions are embedded in the GaN matrix and that no plastic relaxation happens. The In content is shown to vary within a single insertion: The top region is more In rich due to In segretation during growth.

In dieser Arbeit wird die Machbarkeit der Herstellung von Leuchtdioden Strukturen (LEDs) in einzelnen GaN Nanodrähten (ND) und deren Integration mit herkömmlicher Si Technologie untersucht. Hierzu wird zunächst ein generelles Verständnis des Wachstums von GaN ND erarbeitet und dargestellt. Es folgen Untersuchungen zum Einfluss von Dotierstoffen, wie z.B. Mg und Si, auf das Wachstum der ND. Dieses Wissen wird anschließend angewandt um Dotierübergänge in GaN ND herzustellen die nominell n-i-p bzw. p-i-n dotiert sind. Diese Untersuchung brachte die technologisch wichtige Erkenntnis, dass eine p-Dotierung mit Mg am besten erreicht werden kann wenn die ND bereits wohl entwickelt sind. Dies bedeutet, dass der obere Teil der ND LEDs aus p-Typ Material bestehen wird. Eine weitere wichtige Komponente von LEDs ist die aktive Zone in der die Elektron-Loch-Rekombination stattfindet. Im Fall von planaren GaN LEDs wird diese durch Zugabe von In und die Formierung von InGaN hergestellt. Wir untersuchen das Wachstum von InGaN auf Si, GaN NDs und in Form von MQWs, um das Wachstum und insbesondere den In Gehalt unter vielen Bedingungen kontrollieren zu können. Das gesamte Wissen der Voruntersuchungen wird kombiniert und für das Ziel dieser Arbeit nutzbar gemacht: Die Herstellung von GaN ND basierten LEDs. Diese Strukturen werden untersucht und zu einer funktionierenden LED weiter prozessiert. Abschließend wird von den Anstrengungen zur Integration von III-Nitrid LEDs und Si basierter MOSFET Technologie berichtet. Es wird erstmalig erfolgreich die monolithische Integration dieser beiden Bauelemente und ihr gleichzeitiges Funktionieren gezeigt. / This work is concerned with the realization and investigation of a light emitting diode (LED) structure within single GaN nanowires (NWs) and its integration with Si technology. To this end first a general understanding of the GaN NW growth is given. This is followed by investigations of the influence which doping species, such as Mg and Si, have on the growth of the NWs. The experience gathered in these studies set the basis for the synthesis of nominal p-i-n and n-i-p junctions in GaN NWs. Investigations of these structures resulted in the technologically important insight, that p-type doping with Mg is achieved best if it is done in the later NW growth stage. This implies that it is beneficial for a NW LED to place the p-type segment on the NW top. Another important component of an LED is the active zone where electron-hole recombination takes place. In the case of planar GaN LEDs, this is usually achieved by alloying Ga and In to form InGaN. In order to be able to control the growth under a variety of conditions, we investigate the growth of InGaN in the form of extended segments on top of GaN NWs, as well as multi quantum wells (MQWs) in GaN NWs. All the knowledge gained during these preliminary studies is harnessed to reach the overall goal: The realization of a GaN NW LED. Such structures are fabricated, investigated and processed into working LEDs. Finally, a report on the efforts of integrating III-nitride NW LEDs and Si based metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology is given. This demonstrates the feasibility of the monolithic integration of both devices on the same wafer at the same time.

Ces travaux de thèse se concentrent sur la conception d'amplificateur de puissance MMIC large-bande haut rendement en technologie GaN pour des applications militaires de type radar et guerre électronique. Les objectifs principaux sont de proposer des structures innovantes de combinaison de puissance notamment pour réduire la taille des amplificateurs actuels tout en essayant d'améliorer leur rendement dans le même temps. Pour cela, une partie importante de ces travaux consiste au développement de combineurs de puissance ultra compactes et faibles pertes. Une fois ces combineurs réalisés et mesurés, ils sont intégrés dans des amplificateurs de puissance afin de prouver leur fonctionnalité et les avantages qu'ils apportent. Différents types d'amplificateur tant au niveau de l'architecture que desperformances sont réalisés au cours de ces travaux. / This work focus on the design of wideband and high efficiency GaN MMIC high power amplifiers for military applications such as radar and electronic warfare. The main objectives consist in finding innovative power combining structures in order to decrease the overall size of amplifiers and increasing their efficiency at the same time. For these matters, an important part of this work consisted in the design and realization of ultra compact and low loss power combiners. Once the combiners realized and measured, they are integrated into power amplifiers to prove their functionality and the advantages they bring. Several kind of amplifiers have been realized whether regrind their architecture or their performances.

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