High output swing monolithic inverter with E-D mode MIS-HEMTs for GaN power integrated circuits

AlGaN/GaN power HEMT combined with partial AlGaN barrier recess and multiple CHF₃ based fluorine plasma treatments onto ALD deposited Al₂O₃ gate dielectrics is able to bring a high gate threshold voltage (V_TH) for the enhancement mode operations without much degradation on the maximum drain saturation current (I_DMAX). This work reports integration of both the enhancement and depletion (E-D) modes AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs to construct a monolithic inverter. Experimental data show that the proposed power inverter provides large noise margin allowances of 4.9V and 3.2V, large output swing of 9.66V and satisfactory propagation switching delay time of 35ns. The configuration is found to be suitable for GaN power integrated circuits.