III-V semiconductor device and method therefor
AssigneeSemiconductor Components Industries, LLC
InventorsAbhishek Banerjee, Peter Moens, Gordon M. Grivna
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a III-V high electron mobility semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate including a GaN layer, an AlGaN layer on the GaN layer wherein a 2 DEG is formed near an interface of the GaN layer and the AlGaN layer. An insulator may be on at least a first portion of the AlGaN layer and a P-type GaN gate region may be overlying a second portion of the AlGaN layer wherein the 2 DEG does not underlie the P-type GaN gate region.
Claims22
A GaN enhancement mode HEMT comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate having a GaN channel layer;
- an AlGaN barrier layer having a first aluminum content, the AlGaN barrier layer on the GaN channel layer and forming a 2 DEG region adjacent an interface between the GaN channel layer and the AlGaN barrier layer;
- an AlGaN diffusion buffer layer on the AlGaN barrier layer, the AlGaN diffusion buffer layer having a second aluminum content that decreases with a distance away from the AlGaN barrier layer wherein a GaN content increases with the distance away from the AlGaN barrier layer;
- and
- a P-type GaN gate layer on a first portion of the AlGaN diffusion buffer layer.
A method of forming an enhancement mode compound semiconductor FET comprising:
- forming a GaN layer;
- forming an AlGaN layer on the GaN layer wherein a 2 DEG is formed near an interface of the GaN layer and the AlGaN layer;
- forming a P-type GaN region on the AlGaN layer;
- oxidizing portions of the AlGaN layer that are adjacent the P-type GaN region to form a first insulator on the AlGaN layer;
- and
- removing portions of the first insulator to expose underlying first portions of the AlGaN layer and forming source and drain electrodes on the exposed first portions of the AlGaN layer.
An enhancement mode GaN FET comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate including a GaN layer;
- an AlGaN layer on the GaN layer wherein a 2 DEG is formed near an interface of the GaN layer and the AlGaN layer, the AlGaN layer having a surface that is opposite to the interface with the GaN layer, the AlGaN layer having an aluminum content that increases with distance from the surface toward the interface for at least a portion of a first distance from the surface toward the interface;
- an insulator on at least a first portion of the AlGaN layer;
- a P-type GaN gate region overlying a second portion of the AlGaN layer wherein the 2 DEG does not underlie the P-type GaN gate region;
- a source electrode overlying a third portion of the AlGaN layer;
- and
- a drain electrode overlying a fourth portion of the AlGaN layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.