Improvement of AlGaN/GaN HEMT Noise Figure Using Thick Cu Metallization for Satellite Communication Applications

Abstract

In this study, AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) with thick Cu metallization is investigated, and the Radio Frequency (RF) performance and the reliability are analyzed. By applying thick Cu metallization of $6.0 ~\mu \text{m}$ as interconnect, the cut-off frequency (fT), the maximum oscillation frequency (fmax), and the power performance can be improved. Besides, the thick-Cu-metallized device exhibits reduced minimum noise figure (NFmin) of 0.7, 1.0, 2.2 and 2.8 dB at 12, 14, 28 and 38 GHz, respectively, which can be attributed to the reduction of the source and drain resistance caused by thick Cu metallization. Furthermore, for stress test under high drain-to-source voltage (VDS) and high temperature, the proposed device exhibits good stability. The results show that the thick Cu metallization technology has great potential to be applied in satellite communication system.

Keywords

• AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on SiC
• Cu metallization
• minimum noise figure