Recent advances in AlSb/InAs HEMTs for high-speed electronics

Future high-speed receiver and logic applications that require lightweight power supplies, long battery lifetime, improved efficiency, or high component density will require transistors that consume less power. AlSb/InAs HEMTs have intrinsic advantages for these high-speed, low-power-consumption applications due to the attractive material properties of this heterojunction material system that include high values of mobility, channel conductivity, and peak electron velocity at low electric field. For example, intrinsic f_T values of 250 GHz have been obtained at V_DS=600 mV and an f_T of 90 GHz has been measured at V_DS=100 mV. Furthermore, simulations of logic circuits that combine the HEMTs with resonant tunneling diodes show a power dissipation of only 0.3 mW/gate at 20 Gb/s when biased at 400 mV. The potential payoffs associated with this material system are, however, dependent on further improvements in the technology. In this talk, the current status of the design, fabrication, and characterization of Sb-based HEMTs at NRL will be presented including 1/f noise characterization, the use of an InAsSb channel and a TiW/Au gate metalization, and their integration with RITDs