High-Linearity AlGaN/GaN FinFETs for Microwave Power Applications

In this letter, we have proposed a novel AlGaN/GaN FinFET featuring T-shaped gate and extremely linearity of transconductance characteristics (G(m)). The formation of AlGaN/GaN nano-fins only in the gate opening region is enabled by a developed fabrication process, which is simple and well compatible with the conventional one. When normalized to effective channel width, the fabricated FinFET delivers a 1.45 times higher current density and a 1.66 times higher output power density as high as 11.3 W/mm at 8 GHz compared with the planar HEMTs, along with clearly improved linearity characteristics thanks to a flatter Gm response afforded by much lower source access resistance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of superior power performance of high-linearity GaN FinFETs, indicating significant advantages of tri-gate configuration over planar HEMTs for microwave power applications.