Bidirectional heterojunction compound semiconductor protection devices and methods of forming the same

摘要

A protection circuit including a multi-gate high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), a forward conduction control block, and a reverse conduction control block is provided between a first terminal and a second terminal. The multi-gate HEMT includes an explicit drain/source, a first depletion-mode (D-mode) gate, a first enhancement-mode (E-mode) gate, a second E-mode gate, a second D-mode gate, and an explicit source/drain. The drain/source and the first D-mode gate are connected to the first terminal and the source/drain and the second D-mode gate are connected to the second terminal. The forward conduction control block turns on the second E-mode gate when a voltage difference between the first and second terminals is greater than a forward conduction trigger voltage, and the reverse conduction control block turns on the first E-mode gate when the voltage difference is more negative than a reverse conduction trigger voltage.

主权项

1. An apparatus comprising:
a multi-gate high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) comprising a drain/source, a source/drain, a first enhancement-mode (E-mode) gate, and a second E-mode gate, wherein the first E-mode gate is disposed between the drain/source and the second E-mode gate, wherein the second E-mode gate is disposed between the first E-mode gate and the source/drain, and wherein the drain/source is electrically connected to a first terminal, and wherein the source/drain is electrically connected to a second terminal; a forward conduction control block electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal and configured to control a voltage of the gate of the second E-mode gate, wherein the forward conduction control block is configured to turn on the second E-mode gate when a voltage difference between the first and second terminals is greater than a forward conduction trigger voltage and to otherwise bias the second E-mode gate based on a voltage of the second terminal; and a reverse conduction control block electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal and configured to control a voltage of the gate of the first E-mode gate, wherein the reverse conduction control block is configured to turn on the first E-mode gate when the voltage difference is less than a reverse conduction trigger voltage and to otherwise bias the first E-mode gate based on a voltage of the first terminal.