2003/06/11 by B. Jogai, John D. Albrecht, J. D. Albrecht +2 · 2 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Acoustic Wave Resonator Technologies #Ga2O3 and related materials #GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials #cond-mat
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.1603953
published as Journal of Applied Physics 94, 3984 (2003) · 6 figures, revtex
arxiv created 2003/06/11 · openalex publication_date 2003/09/15 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The strain in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors (HFETs) is examined theoretically in the context of the fully coupled equation of state for piezoelectric materials. Using a simple analytical model, it is shown that, in the absence of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), the out-of-plane strain obtained without electromechanical coupling is in error by about 30% for an Al fraction of 0.3. This result has consequences for the calculation of quantities that depend directly on the strain tensor. These quantities include the eigenstates and electrostatic potential in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. It is shown that for an HFET, the electromechanical coupling is screened by the 2DEG. Results for the electromechanical model, including the 2DEG, indicate that the standard (decoupled) strain model is a reasonable approximation for HFET calculations. The analytical results are supported by a self-consistent Schrödinger–Poisson calculation that includes the fully coupled equation of state together with the charge-balance equation.