Planar Wurtzite III-N Gunn Diodes for High Power Millimeter Wave and THz Electronics

用于高功率毫米波和太赫兹电子器件的平面纤锌矿 III-N 耿氏二极管

• 批准号: 1610073
• 负责人: Douglas Yoder
• 金额: $ 42万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1610073&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Planar; Wurtzite; III; Gunn; Diodes

Abstract Title: Planar Wurtzite III-N Gunn Triodes for High Power Millimeter Wave and THz ElectronicsNontechnical Description:The primary objective of the proposed research is to develop innovative high power III-nitride millimeter-wave and terahertz sources of electromagnetic radiation, filling a long-standing technology gap for robust, compact, solid-state devices capable of operating at room temperature. The transformative Gunn triodes proposed here will leverage many years of experience with III-nitride HEMT technologies, and focus on high-quality materials growth, fabrication, design, modeling and high-power high-speed III-nitride device physics research. Through the proposed research tasks, an entirely new architecture for room temperature solid state millimeter-wave and terahertz sources will be demonstrated for a host of diverse applications including wireless communications, automotive radar, remote sensing, medical imaging, concealed object detection, spectroscopy and inter-satellite transmissions. In education outreach activities, the program will enable a close collaboration between the PIs' groups and Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing to actively engage in K-12 education. The program will create online resources for the Georgia STEM Incubator initiatives for K-12 science course modules and help design online professional development curriculum units for teachers on green energy technologies and energy conservation related topics. Students from underrepresented groups will be involved in the research through Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Science programs at Goergia Tech. The program will also host Georgia Intern Fellowship for high school S&T teachers for both continuing education and cultivation of the next-generation of the Science of Engineering education workforce.Technical Description:The successful completion of the proposed work shall result in the very first demonstration of a wurtzite III-nitride based Gunn-effect device. The basis of the proposed approach is the use of advanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth systems to produce GaN-based HEMT-like triode structures with atomically smooth polar interfaces on high-quality GaN substrates. Novel heterostructure Gunn triode designs and fabrication processing technologies will be explored and studied to facilitate successful demonstration of the proposed devices. A comprehensive understanding of the non-stationary and highly non-equilibrium carrier transport mechanisms under high electric-field conditions in these structures will be achieved through the application of state-of-the-art numerical simulation software based on full-band ensemble electro-thermal Monte Carlo solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation. Such calculations have recently provided valuable insight into the reasons why previous attempts to realize GaN-based Gunn effect devices have failed, and have facilitated the identification of a prototypical HEMT-like heterostructure in a triode configuration which addresses each of these shortcomings. The successful demonstration of the proposed III-N Gunn triodes will represent both a significant technological breakthrough in the field of III-N power electronic device research, providing a solid-state solution for the efficient generation of high-power millimeter-wave and terahertz signals at room temperature, as well as an advancement of fundamental science through the very first expression of the Gunn effect in the wurtzite III-nitride material system.

摘要标题：用于高功率毫米波和太赫兹电子的平面纤锌矿III-N古恩三极管非技术描述：拟议研究的主要目标是开发创新的高功率III族氮化物毫米波和太赫兹电磁辐射源，填补了长期存在的技术空白，能够在室温下工作的坚固，紧凑的固态器件。 本文提出的变革性古恩三极管将利用III族氮化物HEMT技术的多年经验，并专注于高质量材料生长、制造、设计、建模和高功率高速III族氮化物器件物理研究。 通过拟议的研究任务，一个全新的室温固态毫米波和太赫兹源架构将被证明用于各种应用，包括无线通信，汽车雷达，遥感，医学成像，隐藏物体检测，光谱学和卫星间传输。 在教育推广活动中，该计划将使PI团体与格鲁吉亚理工学院的科学、数学和计算教育整合中心密切合作，积极参与K-12教育。 该计划将为K-12科学课程模块的格鲁吉亚STEM孵化器计划创建在线资源，并帮助为教师设计绿色能源技术和节能相关主题的在线专业发展课程单元。来自代表性不足群体的学生将通过Goergia Tech的工程/科学项目暑期本科研究参与研究。 该计划还将主办格鲁吉亚实习奖学金的高中科技教师的继续教育和培养下一代的工程科学教育劳动力。技术说明：拟议的工作的成功完成将导致在纤锌矿III氮化物为基础的耿氏效应器件的第一个演示。 所提出的方法的基础是使用先进的金属有机化学气相沉积（MOCVD）生长系统，以生产GaN基HEMT类GaN结构与原子级光滑的极性界面上的高品质GaN衬底。 新型异质结构古恩晶体管的设计和制造工艺技术将进行探索和研究，以促进所提出的器件的成功演示。 通过应用最先进的数值模拟软件，基于玻尔兹曼输运方程的全带系综电热蒙特卡罗解，全面了解这些结构中高电场条件下的非稳态和高度非平衡载流子输运机制。这种计算最近提供了有价值的洞察的原因，为什么以前的尝试，以实现GaN基古恩效应器件失败，并促进了识别的原型HEMT类异质结构在一个SOI配置，解决了这些缺点。 所提出的III-N古恩三极管的成功演示将代表III-N功率电子器件研究领域的重大技术突破，为在室温下有效产生高功率毫米波和太赫兹信号提供固态解决方案，以及通过纤锌矿III族氮化物材料系统中的古恩效应的首次表达来推进基础科学。