To improve the high voltage performance of AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFETs), we have fabricated AlGaN/GaN HFETs with p-GaN epi-layer on sapphire substrate with an ohmic contact to the p-GaN (p-sub HFET). Substrate bias dependent threshold voltage variation (VT-VSUB) was used to directly determine the doping concentration profile in the buffer layer. This VT-VSUB method was developed from Si MOSFET. For HFETs, the insulator is formed by epitaxially grown and heterogeneous semiconductor layer while for Si MOSFETs the insulator is amorphous SiO2. Except that HFETs have higher channel mobility due to the epitaxial insulator/semiconductor interface, HFETs and Si MOSFETs are basically the same in the respect of device physics. Based on these considerations, the feasibility of this VT-VSUB method for AlGaN/GaN HFETs was discussed. In the end, the buffer layer doping concentration was measured to be 21017 cm-3, p-type, which is well consistent with the Mg concentration obtained from secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurement.

GaSb/InAs hot electron transistors (HETs) composed of a type-II misaligned quantum well operate at room temperature. The collector current is well described by the thermionic emission from the emitter. In order to get insight of the electron transport in the HET, the base width was varied or the collector barrier was modulated. The emitter's barrier height for the thermionic emission decreases with decreasing base width. This is caused by the increase of the quantum confinement energy in the InAs base with decreasing base width. Among HETs with a GaSb collector, a GaInSb abrupt layer, or a GaInSb graded layer at the collector edge, the latter type has the largest collector current. This indicates that collector grading reduces not only the collector barrier height, but also the quantum mechanical reflection of electrons. Collector-graded HETs with a 5 nm-thick base show a current gain of 8. The sheet resistance of InAs base is one order of magnitude less than bulk InAs without doping. This reduction is partly due to the accumulation of electrons transferred from the GaSb valence band to the InAs conduction band.