Fabrication of AlGaN/GaN Ω-shaped nanowire fin-shaped FETs by a top-down approach

An AlGaN/GaN-based Ω-shaped nanowire fin-shaped FET (FinFET) with a fin width of 50 nm was fabricated using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-based lateral wet etching. An atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfO2 side-wall layer served as the etching mask. ALD Al2O3 and TiN layers were used as the gate dielectric and gate metal, respectively. The Ω-shaped gate structure fully depletes the active fin body and almost completely separates the depleted fin from the underlying thick GaN buffer layer, resulting in superior device performance. The top-down processing proposed in this work provides a viable pathway towards gate-all-around devices for III-nitride semiconductors.