AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors with low thermal resistance grown on single-crystal diamond (111) substrates by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy

AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with a wurtzite structure were epitaxially grown on single-crystal diamond (111) with a diamond structure by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. In the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, two-dimensional electron gas with sheet carrier density of 1.0×1013 cm−2 and mobility of 730 cm2/V s was obtained. The 3-μm-gate-length AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) show maximum drain current of 220 mA/mm, cut-off frequency of 3 GHz, and maximum frequency of oscillation of 7 GHz. The thermal resistance of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on diamond substrates is 4.1 K mm/W, the lowest ever reported for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs, due to the high thermal conductivity of single-crystal diamond.