Degradation and recovery properties of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors under direct current reverse step voltage stress

Direct current (DC) reverse step voltage stress is applied on the gate of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT). Experiments show that parameters degenerate under stress. Large-signal parasitic source/drain resistance (R_S/R_D) and gate-source forward I-V characteristics are recoverable after breakdown of the device under test (DUT). Electrons trapped by both the AlGaN barrier trap and the surface state under stress lead to this phenomenon, and surface state recovery is the major reason for the recovery of device parameters.