Influence of Polarization Coulomb Field Scattering on the Sub-60 mV/dec Switching of AlGaN/GaN HFETs

The relationship between mobility and subthreshold swing (SS) of AlGaN/GaN HFETs was investigated at 10 and 20 V drain bias using the Monte Carlo method. We find that the polarization Coulomb field (PCF) scattering dominates the mobility at both 10 and 20 V drain bias. The channel carrier mobility is reduced as the gate bias becomes more negative, which reduces SS. The influence of mobility has not been considered in the 60 mV/dec rule, and PCF scattering is crucial for SS to be lower than 60 mV/dec in AlGaN/GaN HFETs. However, when the drain bias is 10 V, the CF scattering significantly diminishes SS. When the drain bias is 20 V, the SS barely decreases. Accordingly, a lower drain–source bias is needed to appropriately reduce SS.