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Research on Simulation Methodology for Gallium Oxide-Based MOSFETs: Electrothermal Characteristics and Reliability Degradation Mechanism
- 1 Tianjin University, No. 92, Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Beta-phase gallium oxide (β-Ga2O₃), as an ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor (4.5–4.9 eV), demonstrates superior critical breakdown field strength (8 MV/cm) compared to SiC and GaN material systems, showing significant potential for next-generation high-power electronics. Nevertheless, inherent limitations including the absence of stable p-type doping leading to depletion-mode operation and low thermal conductivity (~27 W/m·K) causing severe self-heating effects hinder practical applications. This study establishes a multi-physics coupled simulation platform using Sentaurus TCAD to systematically investigate the steady-state electrical characteristics and thermal reliability of β-Ga2O₃ MOSFETs. A self-consistent electrothermal model reveals a threshold voltage of -3.5 V and breakdown voltage of 100 V at 300 K. Thermal stability analysis demonstrates that elevated temperature (600 K) increases leakage current by two orders of magnitude due to thermally excited carrier accumulation, accompanied by a 0.8 V negative shift in threshold voltage. Defect density gradient simulations further uncover that bulk trap concentrations exceeding 1×10¹⁷ cm-3 under off-state conditions induce significant recombination in space charge regions, triggering anomalous conduction phenomena. This work provides theoretical guidance for overcoming thermal management challenges and enhancing reliability in Ga2O3-based devices.
Keywords
β-Ga2O₃, Electrothermal coupling, reliability, trap
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Cite this article
Zhou,J. (2025). Research on Simulation Methodology for Gallium Oxide-Based MOSFETs: Electrothermal Characteristics and Reliability Degradation Mechanism. Applied and Computational Engineering,141,60-69.
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Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Mechatronics and Smart Systems
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