Improved Electrical Performance of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor High-Electron- Mobility Transistors (MOS-HEMTs) Using Al2O3/HfO2 Stacked Gate Dielectrics
AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are widely employed in power electronics and high-frequency systems because of their high-speed switching and high-power capabilities. However, conventional structures suffer from issues including mobility degradation and device deterioration at elevated temperatures, as well as current collapse and increased gate leakage under high-voltage operation. To address these issues, this work proposes metal-oxidesemiconductor HEMTs (MOS-HEMTs) incorporating an Al2O3/HfO2 stacked gate dielectric. Al2O3 provides excellent chemical stability at the AlGaN interface, reducing interface trap density, while its wide bandgap suppresses electron tunneling and lowers gate leakage. In contrast, HfO2 offers a high dielectric constant, improving oxide capacitance and enhancing charge control even at the same physical thickness. The stacked Al2O3/HfO2 structure leverages the complementary advantages of both materials, enabling threshold voltage stabilization and effective suppression of leakage current. This design mitigates the thermal and electrical reliability concerns of conventional HEMTs and paves the way for high-performance GaN-based devices suited to next-generation high-speed, high-power applications such as artificial intelligence, 5G communication, and LiDAR systems.