Characterisation of the effect of surface passivation with SiO2/SiN on deep levels in AlGaN/GaN/Si HEMTs

•Schottky barrier diodes with and without SiO2/SiN passivation, have been characterized by DLTS.•Three deep-level electronic defects were observed.•We have identified several traps inside the AlGaN barrier layer or at the surface.

Al0.26Ga0.73N/GaN/Si HEMTs with and without SiO2/SiN passivation, were characterized by Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS), Capacitance-Voltage (C–V) and Current-Voltage (I–V) measurements to understand the electronic traps in AlGaN/GaN/Si HEMTs and to make a comparative study before and after passivation. Three Deep-level electron traps were observed in our sample with an activation energy 0.054 eV, 0.31 eV and 0.49 eV. The localization and the identification of these traps are reported.

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