• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.618-619
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• 2010

LED는 기존의 발광원에 비해 훨씬 높은 파워와 효율성으로 인해 최근 들어 각종 조명이나 교통신호 등에서 사용이 급증하고 있다. LED 재료를 위해 지금까지 여러가지가 연구되어 왔는데, 갈륨 질화물 (Gallium Nitride, GaN)에 기반한 시스템이 최근들어 가장 큰 관심을 받고 있다. GaN 방식은 열적으로 매우 안정성이 있고, 1.9 ~ 6.2 eV 범위의 넓은 밴드의 Gap, 그리고 인듐이나 알루미늄과 결합하여 청, 녹, 백색등의 다양한 빛을 발생할 수 있는 장점을 가지고 있다. 예를 들어 청색 LED는 광학 방식의 기록매체에, 백색 LED는 기존의 조명램프의 대체용으로 활용이 가능하다. 이러한 장점 덕분에 GaN기반 LED 시장은 1994년에 최초로 상용화 된 이래 최근 급격한 성장을 보여 왔다. 그러나 GaN은 다른 III~V 타입의 반도체 재료와는 달리 재료가 성장하기 위해 사파이어와 같은 별도의 기판을 필요로 하는 문제가 있다. 이것은 결국 전위발생과 같은 격자의 부조화 같은 문제를 야기하여 결국 LED의 성능을 떨어뜨리는 요인이 된다. 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해 HVPE(Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy) 방법이 개발되었는데, 이 방법은 시간당 100 미크론의 매우 빠른 성장속도로 높은 두께의 레이어를 만드는 장점이 있다. 이렇게 성장된 GaN 레이어는 베이스 기판에서 쉽게 분리되어 활용이 가능하다. 그러나 HVPE 기술은 성장 공정에서 두께를 균일하게 만들도록 제어하는 것이 매우 어렵다는 문제가 있다. 따라서 HVPE 방식에서는 이러한 조건을 만족시키기 위해 반응현상에 대한 물리적 해석을 토대로 공정조건을 정밀하게 설계해야 한다. 이를 위해 최근에 실험 또는 시뮬레이션을 활용하여 이러한 공정조건을 향상시키기 위한 여러 연구가 진행되었다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 연구의 일환으로 반응로에 투입되는 여러 기체의 유량과 존별 주변온도 조건을 입력변수로 하고, 이들이 GaN 성장에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. HVPE 시스템에서 가장 이상적인 목표는 반응기체가 층류유동을 유지하면서 대부분의 반응이 기판위에서 이뤄지며, 기판위에서 성장되는 재료의 두께가 균일하게 되는 것이다. 입력변수들이 이러한 결과에 어떠한 영향을 미치는 지 분석하기 위해 전산유체역학(CFD, Computational Fluid Dynamics)을 수행하는 상용코드 FLUENT를 사용하였다. 보다 실제에 가까운 해석을 위해서는 기체간의 화학반응을 포함해야 하나, 해석의 편의와 효율을 위해 본 연구에서는 열 및 유동해석만을 수행하였다. 한편 실제 반응로의 우수성은 성장속도와 두께분포의 균일도를 통해 평가된다. CFD 해석을 통해 이들을 분석하기 위해 기존에 수행한 실험조건을 해석하고 해석결과의 유동패턴/압력분포를 실험결과의 성장속도/두께분포와 비교하고, 이중에서 관련성이 높은 해석결과변수를 우수성 평가에 활용하였다. 기존의 실험결과를 토대로 이러한 중요 결과변수와 함께 이들에 대한 목표값이 도출되고 나면, 입력 공정조건 - 사용기체의 유량과 주변온도 조건 - 에 대해 실험계획(DOE,Design of Experiment)을 수립하고 목표성능을 구현하기 위한 최적설계를 수행할 수 있다. 일반적으로 CFD를 통해 최적의 설계나 공정조건을 탐색하는 작업은 1회의 CFD 계산시간이 매우 오래 소요되기 때문에 쉽지 않다. 그러나 본 연구에서는 CFD와 DOE의 적절한 조합을 통해 적은 수의 해석을 가지고도 원하는 결과를 효율적으로 얻는 것이 가능함을 입증하고자 한다. 본 발표에서는 아직 이러한 연구가 완성되지 않은 시점에서 제반 연구개요를 소개하고 현 시점까지의 연구 결과 및 향후 계획을 소개하고자 한다.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.601-608
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• 2014

In this paper, we have characterized the electrical properties related to gate leakage current in AlGaN/GaN MISHFETs with varying the thickness (0 to 10 nm) of $Al_2O_3$ gate insulator which also serves as a surface protection layer during high-temperature RTP. The sheet resistance of the unprotected TLM pattern after RTP was rapidly increased to $1323{\Omega}/{\square}$ from the value of $400{\Omega}/{\square}$ of the as-grown sample due to thermal damage during high temperature RTP. On the other hand, the sheet resistances of the TLM pattern protected with thin $Al_2O_3$ layer (when its thickness is larger than 5 nm) were slightly decreased after high-temperature RTP since the deposited $Al_2O_3$ layer effectively neutralizes the acceptor-like states on the surface of AlGaN layer which in turn increases the 2DEG density. AlGaN/GaN MISHFET with 8 nm-thick $Al_2O_3$ gate insulator exhibited extremely low gate leakage current of $10^{-9}A/mm$, which led to superior device performances such as a very low subthreshold swing (SS) of 80 mV/dec and high $I_{on}/I_{off}$ ratio of ${\sim}10^{10}$. The PF emission and FN tunneling models were used to characterize the gate leakage currents of the devices. The device with 5 nm-thick $Al_2O_3$ layer exhibited both PF emission and FN tunneling at relatively lower gate voltages compared to that with 8 nm-thick $Al_2O_3$ layer due to thinner $Al_2O_3$ layer, as expected. The device with 10 nm-thick $Al_2O_3$ layer, however, showed very high gate leakage current of $5.5{\times}10^{-4}A/mm$ due to poly-crystallization of the $Al_2O_3$ layer during the high-temperature RTP, which led to very poor performances.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.812-819
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• 2012

Interference and jamming are becoming increasing concern to a radar system nowdays. AESA(Active Electronically Steered Array) antennas and adaptive beamforming(ABF), in which antenna beam patterns can be modified to reject the interference, offer a potential solution to overcome the problems encountered. In this paper, we've developed a planar active phased array radar system, in which ABF, target detection and tracking algorithm operate in real-time. For the high output power and the low noise figure of the antenna, we've designed the S-band TRMs based on GaN HEMT. For real-time processing, we've used wavelenth division multiplexing technique on fiber optic communication which enables rapid data communication between the antenna and the signal processor. Also, we've implemented the HW and SW architecture of Real-time Signal Processor(RSP) for adaptive beamforming that uses SMI(Sample Matrix Inversion) technique based on MVDR(Minimum Variance Distortionless Response). The performance of this radar system has been verified by near-field and far-field tests.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.857-867
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• 2018

Active array radar is evolving into digital active array radar. Digital active array radar has many advantages for making several simultaneous radar beams from the digital receive data of each element. A digital-type transceiver(TR) module is suitable for this goal in radar. In this work, the design results of an L-band digital TR module are presented to verify the possibility of fabrication for a digital active array antenna. This L-band digital TR module consists of a gallium-nitride-type HPA to achieve a more than 350-W peak output power and one-chip transceivers that include a digital waveform generator and analog digital converter. The receiving gain was 47 dB, the noise figure was less than 2 dB, and the final output type of the four channel receiving paths was one optic signal.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2023

This paper presents the design method and electrical characteristics of a high-efficiency power amplifier for a 50 Watts class repeater applied to a 5G system and used in in-building, subway, and tunnel. GaN was used for the termination transistor of the power amplifier designed here, and intermodulation signals were removed using DPD to satisfy linearity. In addition, in order to handle various requirements such as amplifier gain control and alarm processing required in the 5G system, the microprocessor is designed to exist inside the power amplifier. The amplifier manufactured to confirm the electrical performance of the power amplifier satisfying these conditions satisfied 46.5 dBm and the overall efficiency of the amplifier was 37%, and it was confirmed that it satisfied various alarm conditions and electrical characteristics required by telecommunication companies.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.76-79
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• 2010

본 논문에서는 고 효율 및 고 출력 특성을 가지는 질화갈륨(GaN) 소자를 이용하여 WiMAX 및 LTE System에 사용될 수 있는 DPD용 Pallet Amplifier를 제작하였다. 제작된 Pallet Amplifier는 Pre-drive로써 저 전류의 MMIC를 채택하고, Drive 단과 Main 단에 15W 급과 30W 급의 질화갈륨 소자를 사용 하였으며, 추가적인 효율 개선을 위해 PCB상에 Doherty Structure를 적용함으로써 보다 높은 효율을 구현하였다. 제작된 Pallet Amplifier는 음 전원 Bias 제어 회로, 온도에 따른 Gain 보상회로, Sequence 회로 및 Main 전원 Drop에 따른 보호 회로를 구현하였다. WiMAX Signal을 이용한 Modulation Power 10Watt Test에서 약 36.8~38.3%의 Pallet 효율과 DPD Solution인 TI GC5325SEK DPD Board 사용 시 ACLR은 약 46dBc 이상을 가지는 것으로 측정되었다. 본 논문에서 제작된 Pallet Amplifier는 Upper Band와 Lower Band로 나누어 제작되었던 기존 Pallet Amplifier와 달리 하나의 Pallet Amplifier로 2496~2690MHz에서 모두 사용하면서 종전에 사용되고 있는 Pallet Amplifier에 비해 Size가 최소 10% 이상 축소되어 효율 및 크기 면에서 종전 Pallet Amplifier보다 큰 이점을 갖는다.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.9-15
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• 2018

This paper shows the principles and characteristics of the transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding technology for power modules packaging. The power module is semiconductor parts that change and manage power entering electronic devices, and demand is increasing due to the advent of the fourth industrial revolution. Higher operation temperatures and increasing current density are important for the performance of power modules. Conventional power modules using Si chip have reached the limit of theoretical performance development. In addition, their efficiency is reduced at high temperature because of the low properties of Si. Therefore, Si is changed to silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). Various methods of bonding have been studied, like Ag sintering and Sn-Au solder, to keep up with the development of chips, one of which is TLP bonding. TLP bonding has the advantages in price and junction temperature over other technologies. In this paper, TLP bonding using various materials and methods is introduced. In addition, new TLP technologies that are combined with other technologies such as metal powder mixing and ultrasonic technology are also reviewed.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.10-15
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• 2012

In this work, we proposed the asymmetric MQW structure with gradually increased or decreased well thickness from n-layers to p-layers in order to improve the performance of DUV-LEDs. We report the simulation results of electrical/optical characteristics by using the SimuLED program. From the simulation results, we found that B structure with thickness of the wells gradually increased from the n-side to the p-side has the same forward voltage(Vf) as standard structure, but the light output power (Pout) was improved by a factor of 1.17 at 20mA compared with those of the standard structure.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.421-432
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• 2020

This paper proposes a 2-kW solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) developed by employing power amplifier pallets designed using gallium-nitride high electron mobility transistors, which is used in S-band military radars and to replace existing traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA). The SSPA consists of a high-power amplifier module, which combines eight power amplifier pallets, a drive amplifier module, a digital control module, and a power supply unit. First, the amplifier module and component were integrated into a small package to account for space limitations; next, an on-board harmonic filter was fabricated to reject spurious components; and finally, an auto gain control system was designed for various duty ratios because recent military radar systems are all active phase radars using the pulse operation mode. The developed SSPA exhibited a max gain of 48 dB and an output power ranging between 63-63.6 dBm at a frequency band of 3.1 to 3.5 GHz. The auto gain control function showed that the output power is regulated around 63 dBm despite the fluctuation of the input power from 15-20 dBm. Finally, reliability of the developed system was verified through a temperature environment test for nine hours at high (55 ℃) / low (-40℃) temperature profile in accordance with military standard 810. The developed SSPA show better performance such as light weight, high output, high gain, various safety function, low repair cost and short repair time than existing TWTA.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.16-26
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• 2011

This paper presents high power and high efficiency Doherty amplifiers for 2.345 GHz wireless broadband (WiBro) applications that use a Nitronex 125-W ($P_{3dB}$) GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). Two- and three-way Doherty amplifiers and a saturated Doherty amplifier using Class-F circuitry are implemented. The measured result for a center frequency of 2.345 GHz shows that the two-way Doherty amplifier attains a high $P_{3dB}$ of 51.5 dBm, a gain of 12.5 dB, and a power-added efficiency (PAE) improvement of about 16 % compared to a single class AB amplifier at 6-dB back-off power region from $P_{3dB}$. For a WiBro OFDMA signal, the Doherty amplifier provides an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) at 4.77 MHz offset that is -33 dBc at an output power of 42 dBm, which is a 9.5 dB back-off power region from $P_{3dB}$. By employing a digital pre-distortion (DPD) technique, the ACLR of the Doherty amplifier is improved from -33 dBc to -48 dBc. The measured result for the same frequency shows that the three-way Doherty amplifier, which has a $P_{3dB}$ of 53.16 dBm and a gain of 10.3 dB, and the saturated Doherty amplifier, which has a $P_{3dB}$ of 51.1 dBm and a gain of 10.3 dB, provide a PAE improvement of 11 % at the 9-dB back-off power region and 7.5 % at the 6-dB back-off region, respectively, compared to the two-way Doherty amplifier.