High-power high-temperature heterobipolar transistor with gallium nitride emitter

A new heterobipolar transistor was made with the wide bandgap semicon-ductors gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). The heterojunction allows high injection efficiency, even at elevated temperatures. A record current gain of ten million was obtained at room temperature, decreasing to 100 at 535 degrees C. An Arrhenius plot of current gain vs 1/T yields an activation energy of 0.43 eV that corresponds to the valence band barrier blocking the escape of holes from the base to the emitter. This activation energy is approximately equal to the difference of energy gaps between emitter and base. This Transistor can operate at high power without cooling. A power density of 30 KW/cm(2) was sustained.