Effect of a diamond heat spreader on the characteristics of gallium nitride-based transistors

Abstract

A problem, which concerns the effect of the diamond heat-spreading layer on the temperature and voltage-current characteristics of gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is solved for the first time in a hydrodynamic model (which includes the continuity equation, Poisson equation, and equations for electron and lattice temperatures). The mechanism of the occurrence of peak electron and lattice temperatures (hot spots) is analyzed. It is shown that introducing a heat spreader considerably reduces the maximum temperature (by 263 K for a sapphire substrate and by 163 K for a silicon carbide substrate) and improves the voltage-current characteristics. The effectiveness of the heat spreader is evaluated depending on its thickness, gate size, and substrate material to find the optimum design.