Proton Radiation-Induced Void Formation in Ni/Au-Gated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to 2-MeV protons irradiation, at room temperature, up to a fluence of 6 × 10¹⁴ H⁺/cm². Aside from degradation resulting from radiation-induced charge trapping, transmission electron microscopy and electrical measurements reveal a radiation-induced defect located at the edges of the Ni/Au Schottky gate in the proton-irradiated devices. At the edges of the Ni/Au gate, the Ni of the Ni/Au gate diffused up into the Au layer and migrated into the AlGaN barrier, leaving voids in the Ni layer at the gate edges after irradiation. These radiation-induced voids are caused by diffusion of Ni through vacancy exchange, known as the Kirkendall effect, resulting in reduced gate area and degrading the HEMT performance.