Improved thermal performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by an optimized flip-chip design

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) on sapphire substrates have been studied for their potential application in RF power applications; however, the low thermal conductivity of the sapphire substrate is a major drawback. Aiming at RF system-in-a-package, the authors propose a flip-chip-integration approach, where the generated heat is dissipated to an AIN carrier substrate. Different flip-chip-bump designs are compared, using thermal simulations, electrical measurements, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and infrared thermography. The authors show that a novel bump design, where bumps are placed directly onto both source and drain ohmic contacts, improves the thermal performance of the HEMT.