Correlation-based study of FEA and IR thermography to reveal the 2DEG temperature of a multi-fingered high-power GaN HEMT

High electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) based on gallium nitride (GaN) with a wide range of application potentials need to be rigorously examined for reliability to take advantage of their intrinsically extraordinary properties. The most vital parameter of the reliability, the hotspot, or Tmax, resides in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) temperature profile inside the device where optical access is often restricted. The device surface temperature can be measured by widespread IR thermography with the limitation of diffraction-based IR transmission losses. However, Tmax on the sub-surface cannot be reached thermographically. Although finite element analysis (FEA)-based thermal simulations can easily reveal the 2DEG temperature profile, accuracy is tightly dependent on the realistic modeling of material/structure parameters. Because these parameters are rather sensitive to fabrication and processing, it is quite difficult to specify them accurately. To overcome these drawbacks, a method integrating both IR thermography and FEA thermal analysis is demonstrated on a fabricated high-power 40 × 360 μm packaged GaN HEMT as a proof-of-concept. Utilizing the simulation and measurement temperature profiles, a correlation algorithm is developed so that accuracy of the FEA thermal simulation is improved by calibrating the parameters specific to fabrication/process conditions by thermographic measurement. Then, it is quantitatively shown that the proposed method is able to find the 2DEG temperature profile and Tmax with an accuracy that best suits the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the device under test. The method sheds light on GaN reliability engineering by providing a feasible and reliable alternative to realistically reveal hotspot information for device lifetime assessments.