Polynomial noise modeling of Silicon based GaN HEMTs

In the framework of silicon (Si) technology, evolution towards high-frequency analog applications - which involves innovative solutions such as SiGe BiCMOS and FinFET devices - wide bandgap semiconductors grown on Si substrates are likely to represent a valid option in those cases wherever high-power handling and low noise figures are required. Although such active devices have been extensively investigated in the last years, much of interest has been devoted in developing nonlinear models for high-power applications, whereas reliable noise models still lack, in particular, the validity of traditional (i.e. equivalent temperature-based) approaches for noise modeling of wide bandgap devices has not been sufficiently probed yet. In this contribution, a quite general, black box noise model of active devices is proposed and applied to a family of gallium nitride-on-Si high-electron-mobility transistors fabricated by Selex ES. The model is based on a polynomial approximation of the device correlation matrix and does not require that an accurate small-signal equivalent circuit is available; instead, it can be extracted from multifrequency source pull data. Experimental results demonstrate that a typical behavior of the noise parameters is obtained, both versus frequency and gate periphery. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.