CMOS-compatible GaN-based devices on 200mm-Si for RF applications: Integration and Performance

We report on Al(Ga,In)N HEMTs, MISHEMTs and MOSFETs integrated on 200 mm Si wafers using Au-free processing in standard Si CMOS tools, and discuss the performance tradeoffs, limitations and solutions. The main highlights of process optimization include low RF transmission loss (0.15 dB/mm at 20 GHz), state-of-the-art contact resistance (R
C
) of 0.14 Ω mm for a non-Au, low thermal budget (<600 °C) contact scheme and a high vertical breakdown voltage (V
BD
) of >300 V (pre and post device processing). We show that MISHEMTs, which feature the highest field effect mobility (μ
FE
), >2000 cm
²
/V.s, and the best 1/f noise performance, have the potential to outperform the other device types in terms of device scalability for high frequency operation.