AlGaN/GaN HEMT

Thermal burnout under irradiation

This device's failure mechanism under heavy-ion irradiation is systematically revealed, providing direct evidence for leakage current surge and thermal burnout, and informing radiation-hardening design.

Hu, Peipei · Xu, Lijun · Zhang, Shengxia · Zhai, Pengfei · Lv, Ling · Yan, Xiaoyu · Li, Zongzhen · Cao, Yanrong · Zheng, Xuefeng · Zeng, Jian · He, Yuan · Liu, Jie

Nuclear Science and Techniques/Hewuli 2025

Advantages

Under high voltage, leakage current sharply increased with rapid rise in power density, leading to thermal burnout

Irradiated devices without bias showed increased on-resistance and decreased breakdown voltage

Heavy-ion-induced latent tracks penetrated the heterojunction interface and extended into the GaN layer

N₂ bubble defects discovered inside tracks; their accumulation likely causes leakage and failure