Meandering Gate Edges for Breakdown Voltage Enhancement in AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

Herein, a unique device‐design strategy is reported for increasing the breakdown voltage and hence Baliga figure of merit (BFOM) of III‐nitride high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by engineering the gate edge toward the drain. The breakdown of such devices with meandering gate‐drain access region (M‐HEMT) are found to be 62% more compared with that of conventional HEMT whereas the on‐resistance suffers by 76%, leading to an overall improvement in the BFOM for by 28%. The 3D technology computer‐aided design simulations show that the decrease in the peak electric field at the gate edge was responsible for increased breakdown voltage.