Normally-off AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with thin InGaN cap layer

We have fabricated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with a thin InGaN cap layer to implement normally-off HEMTs with a small extrinsic source resistance. The key idea is to employ the polarization-induced field in the InGaN cap layer, by which the conduction band is raised leading to the normally-off operation. Fabricated HEMT with an In0.2Ga0.8N cap layer with a thickness of 5 nm showed normally-off operation with a threshold voltage of 0.4 V and a maximum transconductance of 85 mS/mm for the device with a 1.9-mu m-long gate. By etching-off the In0.2Ga0.8N cap layer at the region except under the gate using gate and ohmic electrodes as etching masks, the sheet resistance has decreased from 2.7 to 0.75 kK Omega/square, and the maximum transconductance has increased from 85 to 130 mS/mm due to a reduction of the extrinsic source resistance. The transconductance was increased from 130 to 145 mS/mm by annealing the devices at 250 degrees C for 20 minutes in a N-2 atmosphere.