Low-Frequency Drain Noise Characterization and TCAD Physical Simulations of GaN HEMTs: Identification and Analysis of Physical Location of Traps

In this letter, an investigation of the lowfrequency (LF) drain noise characteristics of the GaN/ AlGaN/GaN HEMT grown on a SiC substrate has been performed. LF drain noise measurements are performed over the frequency range of 20 Hz-1 MHz by varying chuck temperatures (T
_chuck
) between 25°C and 100°C. Furthermore, we present the 2-D TCAD physical simulation analysis of this device. TCAD simulation model has been calibrated using the measured device characteristics, and then, using the calibrated model, LF drain noise simulations have been performed. A good match is observed between drain noise measurements and simulation results, and this physically confirms that two acceptor-like traps with apparent activation energies of 0.51 and 0.57 eV, respectively, below the conduction band are located in the GaN buffer.