IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 53, NO.

9, SEPTEMBER 2006

2237

Analysis of Thermal Effect Influence in

Gallium-Nitride-Based TLM Structures by
Means of a TransportThermal Modeling
Brahim Benbakhti, Michel Rousseau, Ali Soltani, and Jean-Claude De Jaeger

AbstractThe power dissipation in a semiconductor device usually generates a self-heating effect, which becomes very significant
for gallium nitride power applications. The operating temperature
of these devices increases significantly, and the transport properties are then degraded (IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 24, p. 375,
2003; IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 49, p. 1496, 2002; IEEE
Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 52, p. 1683, 2005). Taking heating
effects into account explains the physical phenomena observed
in experiments, due in particular to the fact that temperature
greatly affects the velocity. In this paper, numerical simulations are
carried out to study the influence of thermal effects on the static
characteristics of GaN transmission line measurement (TLM)
model structures. A transportthermal model is thus developed in
order to take into account both the electrical and the thermal phenomena in a coupled way. This paper uses GaN TLMs on sapphire
substrates. Simulations have shown that the saturation current is
reached for electric fields much lower than the saturation electric
field, thus confirming the experimental results.
Index TermsFinite-element method, GaN, self-heating,
transportthermal model.

I. INTRODUCTION

ITH their remarkable electrical and thermal properties,

GaN-based devices are choice components for the fabrication of transistors for power applications [4]. GaN offers
a lot of advantages such as high bandgap (3.4 eV), high saturation velocity (Vsat > 1 107 cm/s), and high breakdown
electric field (4 MV/cm) associated with excellent thermal
conductivity (1.6W/cm K) [5][7]. For the time being, GaNbased transistors constitute the most promising devices for
high-power amplification, leading to a power density of more
than 30 W/mm at the X-band and 10 W/mm at the Ka -band
[8][10]. Characterizing the different processing steps is essential to improve and optimize the device technology. The ohmic
contact behavior is therefore usually established according to
currentvoltage (IV ) measurement characteristics carried out
on transmission line model (TLM) structures. Fig. 1 shows
the typical IV characteristic measured between two ohmic
contacts for different distances (2, 5, and 10 m) on TLM structures made from GaN-based epitaxy on sapphire substrates. The
Manuscript received March 31, 2006; revised June 20, 2006. This work was
supported by the French MOD (DGA: Direction Generale de lArmement)
under the KORRIGAN Project. The review of this paper was arranged by Editor
M. Anwar.
The authors are with the Institut dElectronique de Microlectronique et
de Nanotechnologie IEMN/TIGER, CNRS UMR 8520, Universit des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59652 Villeneuve dAscq, France (e-mail:
brahim.benbakhti@iemn.univ-lille1.fr).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TED.2006.881014

Fig. 1. Static measured IV characteristics.

current saturates from 10 to 16 V (2 to 5 m), corresponding

to electric fields in the range of 5032 kV/cm. These electric
fields being much lower than the critical electric field in GaN
( 200 kV/cm) is a phenomenon that cannot be explained using
the electron velocity saturation in the device.
Previous studies based on a thermal model using the device
thermal resistance have shown that the increasing temperature
due to self-heating is the decisive effect [11]. In these previous
studies, the temperature of the active device area results from
the thermal resistance and the dissipated power. Consequently,
only an average temperature on which the transport parameters
depend is considered.
In this paper, a more accurate approach is developed in order
to take into account the temperature variations everywhere in
the studied device. It is based on a transportthermal model
in which the device behavior is described by an energy balance model coupled with the thermal equation. Such a model
takes the influence of temperature on transport properties into
account and accurately describes the behavior of the physical
quantities of the device. It also explains some of the phenomena
observed in the experiments, such as the saturation current at a
low electric field in the TLM structure.
II. MODELING APPROACH
A physical approach based on a two-dimensional (2-D)
transport model coupled with a 2-D thermal one is developed.

0018-9383/$20.00 2006 IEEE

2238

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 53, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 2. GaN TLM device structure.

This transport model is the well-known energy balance model,

in which nonstationary effects in small-size components as well
as hot-carrier effects can be taken into account [12].
The key feature of our model stems from the calculation
of the lattice temperature and the use of transport properties,
which depend not only on electron temperature but also on
lattice temperature. The transport and the thermal models
are implemented using a finite-element method based on the
FEMLAB software. The whole device area is simulated with
the thermal model, while the transport model is used only in
the active region (Fig. 2).
A. Transport Model
The energy-transport model is based on the conservation
equations of semiconductors deduced from Boltzmanns equation and coupled with Poissons equation. A 2-D energy balance
model representing a good compromise between accuracy and
complexity is carried out. Such a model takes hot-carrier effects
as well as the nonstationary effects observed in small-size
components into account. The following is the set of coupled
equations to be solved [13], [14]: Poissons equation:
 = q(ND n).
(o r E)
Continuity equation for electrons:


Jn
n
=
t
q

(1)

Drift velocity versus electric field for different lattice temperatures.

2
ized WiedemannFrantz law: e = ((5/2) + c)(kB
/q)nn Te
and c = 2.1 [15], where kB is the Boltzmanns constant.
Transport parameters such as electron mobility, energy relaxation time, and electron effective mass are obtained from the
stationary Monte Carlo simulations for different lattice temperatures [16]. Fig. 3 represents velocity versus electric field
for lattice temperatures in the range of 300700 K by steps of
100 K in GaN. For a given electric field, the velocity decreases
when the lattice temperature increases [17]. The electric field
corresponding to the peak velocity is about 200 kV/cm.
Regarding electron effective mass and energy relaxation
time, the Monte Carlo simulation shows that they are quite
identical for all the lattice temperatures. Thus, mobility is the
only term that strongly depends on lattice temperature, but the
other transport parameters are independent of it.
The transport model equations are solved only in the active
region of the component.
 The mesh size is deduced from
Debyes length: LD = 0 r kB Te /(q 2 n); it is close to 1 nm.

B. Thermal Model
(2)

where Jn is the electron current density, which is defined by

 + (kB /q)(nTe )).
Jn = qn (nE
0 r is the permittivity, n is the electron density, q is the
absolute electron charge, ND is the ionized donor density, and
n is the electron mobility.
The equation governing the energy flux is

(nw)
 = E Jn n w wo
+ (S)
t
q
w

Fig. 3.

(3)

=Q
 (w + kB Te )(Jn /q). S
 is the electron energy
where S
flow, w is the energy relaxation time, and w is the average energy related to the average velocity vn and the electron temperature Te by w = (1/2)m vn2 + (3/2)kB Te . As conventionally
 = e (Te ).
assumed, the heat flow follows Fouriers law: Q
The electronic thermal conductivity e is given by the general-

The thermal model is aimed at computing the lattice temperature at each point of the device. The following nonlinear heat
equation is solved everywhere in the device:
[(TL )(TL )] = Cp

TL
H
t

(4)

where is the thermal conductivity, is the material mass

density, Cp is the specific heat, and H is the heat generated per
unit volume, which is defined by [18]: H = (3/2)nkB ((Te
TL )/w ). The heat source H results from inelastic interactions
between the electrons and the lattice. Its value is obtained
using the energy conservation equation of the transport model.
Outside the active area, its value is set equal to zero.
In order to obtain the lattice temperature at each point of the
active area without restrictive assumptions, the thermal equation is solved in the whole device (active layer and substrate).
The size of the simulated area is 400 m wide by 500 m
thick. The values of thermal conductivity according to the

BENBAKHTI et al.: THERMAL EFFECT INFLUENCE IN TLM BY TRANSPORTTHERMAL MODELING

2239

Fig. 4. Thermal and transport models coupling. (The transport model is

described in Section II-A, and the thermal model is described in Section II-B.)

lattice temperature are used for the various materials (GaN and
sapphire substrate [3], [19]).
C. Transport and Thermal Coupling
The electrical and the thermal time constants are very different. The electrical time step is limited by Reisers equation
[20]: t < 2(0 r /qn n), while the thermal one is limited by
t < (Cp /kB )(l2 /4), where l is the mesh size.
The usual time-step value for the conservative equations is
about 1016 s, while it is close to 1 ns for the thermal equation.
In the active area, the mesh is very small in accordance to
Debyes condition, but it can become larger outside this area
because only the thermal model is solved. In order to get a
mesh suitable for the transport and thermal equations, we have
implemented our model using a finite-element method.
In this implementation, the two models described in
Sections II-A and -B are solved alternatively. Potential, electron
density, and electron temperature are first calculated in the
active area solving the transport model. Then, the thermal
equation is solved in order to determine the lattice temperature
at each point of the device. Fig. 4 shows the connection between
the thermal and transport sets of equations. The thermal and
transport equations are solved in a self-consistent method until
the physical and thermal quantities converge. At each time step
of the thermal model, the transport equations are solved with the
updated parameters (vn , w , and m ) to reach the convergence
of the physical quantities. The source term (H) of the thermal
equation is then computed. The thermal equation is solved
again and so on until the lattice temperature stabilizes. Usual
boundary conditions are considered for the transport model
[13]. For the thermal model, the temperature of the substrate
base is supposed constant and taken to be 300 K. Under the
ohmic contacts, the electron temperature is assumed to be equal
to the lattice temperature.
III. RESULTS AND PHYSICAL ANALYSIS
The experimental results have been obtained on GaN layers
grown on a sapphire substrate. The substrate is about 500 m
thick. The epitaxial structure consists of a 2.5-m-thick intrinsic GaN layer, followed by a 200-nm-thick layer with a doping
concentration of 5 1017 cm3 . On top of these layers, the

Fig. 5. 2-D distribution of the lattice temperature (in kelvin). (The bias
between the two pads is 16 V, and the distance is 2 m.)

ohmic contacts are processed at intervals of 2, 5, and 10 m.

This structure is simulated for two different distances between
the ohmic contacts (2 and 5 m). The thickness of the active
area taken into account for the transport model is 400 nm, and
the total length of the component is 2.4 or 5.4 m, depending
on the distance between the ohmic contacts. The temperature of
the substrate base is set equal to 300 K.
The experimental characteristics obtained in our laboratory
(Fig. 1) show that the current saturates for TLM measurements
on GaN structures. It is important to note that the electric fields
for which the current saturates are much lower than the critical
electric field.
Therefore, GaN TLM structures on sapphire substrates with
and without thermal effect were investigated. It is interesting to note that the thermal equation is solved in the whole
component, including the substrate, without using the thermal
resistance as usually done. The resistance and the thermal
capacity of the substrate were not considered in order to get
an accurate determination and to validate previous studies. Due
to the thermal simulation of the device, we have obtained the
temperature profile between the two ohmic contact pads. This
is very significant because the temperature is not uniform.
Since the electron density and the electron temperature are
very low outside the active area, the calculation of the source
term is restricted to this area. Fig. 5 shows the 2-D distribution
of the lattice temperature in the device for a voltage of 16 V
applied between the two pads, showing a maximum in the active
area. Fig. 6 shows the distributions of physical quantities such
as potential, electron temperature, and lattice temperature in
the active area for the same bias conditions. For a distance of

2240

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 53, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 8. Static IV curves (with and without thermal effect) versus applied
voltage.

Fig. 6. Distributions of the physical and thermal quantities in the active area
(The bias between the two pads is 16 V.). (a) Potential. (b) Electron temperature.
(c) Heat source term. (d) Lattice temperature.

Fig. 7. Electron and lattice temperature profiles in the active area for three
different depths. (The bias between the two pads is 16 V.)

2 m between the two pads, the current is about 838 mA/mm

and gives a dissipated power of 13.4 W/mm. The maximum
of the lattice temperature is located halfway between the pads
and close to the surface. The heat source term is localized in
the channel, which proves that it is not necessary to compute it
in the whole device. Fig. 7 shows the longitudinal distributions
of electron and lattice temperatures between the two pads on
the 2-m device, for an applied voltage of V = 16 V. There
are two sets (lattice and electron temperatures) of three curves
corresponding to three different depths (0.1, 0.225, and 0.3 m
under the surface). It is important to note that the electron
temperature is practically constant between the two contacts
and close to 1290 K. Regarding the lattice temperature, the

maximum value in the active area is 683 K, decreasing to

678 K at a distance of 0.3 m from the top. In the active
layer, the variation of the temperature between the two pads is
about 20 K. This evolution confirms the validity of the thermal
resistance approach determining the average temperature in the
active layer [11]. However, the dissipated power area in highelectron mobility transistor (HEMTs) is localized at the gate
exit, thus inducing large temperature variations in the device.
Consequently, our coupled model appears be more appropriate
for the study of self-heating in HEMTs.
IV characteristics are calculated for distances of 2 and
5 m between the pads (Fig. 8). Two cases are studied: a simulation with a constant lattice temperature and another where the
lattice temperature is computed and taken into account in the
transport properties. For L = 2 m, the latter simulation shows
that the current saturates at a voltage of 10 V, corresponding
to an electric field of 50 kV/cm, which is much lower than
the critical one. This effect is not observed at all when the
lattice temperature is constant. This saturation results from the
rapid increase in the lattice temperature of the active area, according to the applied voltage. After the saturation, the current
decreases at higher voltages, leading to a negative resistance.
Self-heating effects can account for this negative resistance.
Furthermore, for L = 5 m, the current saturates at a voltage
of 16 V, corresponding to an electric field of 32 kV/cm. If
the thermal effect is neglected, the current is higher and does
not saturate. The current observed at V = 10 V for L = 2 m
without thermal effects is 1190 instead of 830 mA/mm with
heating effects. For L = 5 m, the current at V = 16 V is
960 instead of 640 mA/mm. These results are consistent with
previously published results [21]. The device temperature is
constant under short-pulse measurement. An increase in the
current is observed; it is in keeping with the results of our
simulation without thermal effects. Yet, as the pulse duration
increases, a saturation effect appears, which is due to selfheating and is in keeping with our results without thermal
effects.
Fig. 9 gives representations of the currents versus the electric
field. The slopes of the curves are similar at low electric

BENBAKHTI et al.: THERMAL EFFECT INFLUENCE IN TLM BY TRANSPORTTHERMAL MODELING

2241

R EFERENCES

Fig. 9. Static IE curves (measured and simulated) and active area temperature versus electric field.

fields, for both distances, because of the small value of the

dissipated power and the associated low self-heating effect
at reduced electric field. We can also note that for a given
electric field E, the temperature is higher for a larger distance between two pads. At E = 40 kV/cm, the temperature is
525 K for the 5-m device and 435 K for the 2-m device. The
higher one is the consequence of the larger applied voltage,
which is not completely compensated by the drop in thermal
resistance. Furthermore, the device heats when the dissipated
power becomes significant, thus reducing both the electron
velocity and the current. The only fitting parameter used in this
simulation is the doping concentration, which is chosen to fit
the experimental saturation current for the 2-m device. We
have obtained very good adequacy between the experimental
measurements and simulation values for the current density
not only in the saturated region but also in the ohmic region.
Consequently, the results prove excellent for the 5-m device
without any new fitting parameter.

IV. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a transportthermal model was developed to
take into account the physical and thermal involved phenomena
in a coupled way. It is shown that only the determination of the
temperature dependence of the electron velocity everywhere in
the device explains experimental observations. The model was
used to study the GaN-based TLM behavior. We show a good
agreement between experimental determination and theoretical
prediction, explaining in particular why the current saturates
at low applied voltages or low electric fields. Furthermore, it
leads to a good understanding of the physical behavior. A model
taking heterojunctions into account is under progress and will
be used for the modeling of HEMT structures. In this case, it
will be necessary to consider the 2-D transport properties in
the channel. This model will be a useful tool for the thermal
management of hybrid or integrated GaN-based circuits, in
which the main limitation for power device applications is due
to self-heating [22].

[1] J. Sun, H. Fatima, A. Koudymov, A. Chitnis, X. Hu, H.-M. Wang,

J. Zhang, G. Simin, J. Yang, and M. Asif Khan, Thermal management
of AlGaN/GaN HFETs on sapphire using flip-chip bonding with epoxy
underfill, IEEE Electron Devices Lett., vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 375377,
Jun. 2003.
[2] J. Kuzmk, P. Javorka, A. Alam, M. Marso, M. Heuken, and
P. Kordo, Determination of channel temperature in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs
grown on sapphire and silicon substrates using DC characterization
method, IEEE Electron Devices Lett., vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 14961498,
Aug. 2002.
[3] A. Christensen, W.-A. Doolittle, and S. Graham, Heat dissipation in highpower GaN electronics on thermally resistive substrates, IEEE Trans.
Electron Devices, vol. 52, no. 8, pp. 16831688, Aug. 2005.
[4] D. Ducatteau, A. Minko, V. Hol, E. Morvan, E. Delos, B. Grimbert,
H. Lahrche, P. Bove, C. Gaquire, J.-C. De Jaeger, and S. Delage,
Output power density of 5.1/mm at 18 GHz with an AlGaN/GaN HEMT
on Si substrate, IEEE Electron Devices Lett., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 79,
Jan. 2006.
[5] U.-V. Bhapkara and M.-S. Shur, Monte Carlo calculation of velocityfield characteristics of wurtzite GaN, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 82, no. 4,
pp. 16491655, Aug. 1997.
[6] J. Park, M.-W. Shin, and C.-C. Lee, Thermal modeling and measurement
of GaN-based HFET devices, IEEE Electron Devices Lett., vol. 24, no. 7,
pp. 424426, Jul. 2003.
[7] M.-E. Levinshtein, S.-L. Rumyantsev, and M.-S. Shur, Properties of advanced semiconductor materials: GaN, AIN, InN, BN, SiC, SiGe. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2001. ISBN: 0-471-35827-4 Hardcover, 216 pages.
[8] Y.-F. Wu, A. Saxler, M. Moore, R.-P. Smith, S. Sheppard, P.-M.
Chavarkar, T. Wisleder, U.-K. Mishra, and P. Parikh, 30-W/mm GaN
HEMTs by field plate optimization, IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 25,
no. 3, pp. 117119, Mar. 2004.
[9] T. Palacios, A. Chakraborty, S. Rajan, C. Poblenz, S. Keller,
S.-P. DenBaars, J.-S. Speck, and U.-K. Mishra, High power AlGaN/GaN
HEMTs for Ka-band applications, IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 26,
no. 11, pp. 781783, Nov. 2005.
[10] S. Gao, H. Xu, S. Heikman, U.-K. Mishra, and R.-A. York, Two-stage
quasi-class-E power amplifier in GaN HEMT technology, IEEE Microw.
Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 2830, Jan. 2006.
[11] J.-D. Albrecht, P.-P. Ruden, S.-C. Binari, and M.-G. Ancona, AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistor model including thermal
effects, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 47, no. 11, pp. 20312036,
Nov. 2000.
[12] Y. Apanovich, E. Lyumkis, B. Polsky, A. Shur, and P. Blakey, Steadystate and transient analysis of submicron devices using energy balance and
simplified hydrodynamic models, IEEE Trans. Comput.-Aided Design
Integr. Circuits Syst., vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 702715, Jun. 1994.
[13] M. Rousseau, J.-D. Delemer, J.-C. De Jaeger, and F. Dessenne, Twodimensional hydrodynamic model including inertia effects in carrier momentum for power millimetre-wave semi-conductor devices, Solid State
Electron., vol. 47, no. 8, pp. 12971309, Aug. 2003.
[14] M. Elkhou, M. Rousseau, H. Gerard, and J. C. De Jaeger, Physical
study of the avalanche breakdown phenomenon in HEMTs, Solid State
Electron., vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 535544, Apr. 2005.
[15] L. Varani, C. Palermo, J.-C. Vaissiere, A. Greiner, and L. Reggiani,
Avoiding spurious velocity overshoot in hydrodynamic simulation of
deep submicron devices by a physical modeling of heat transport, Semicond. Sci. Technol., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 142144, Apr. 2004.
[16] F. Dessenne, D. Cichocka, P. Desplanques, and R. Fauquembergue, Comparison of wurtzite and zincblende III-V nitrides field effect transistors:
A 2D monte carlo device simulation, Mater. Sci. Eng. B, vol. 50, no. 3,
pp. 315318, 1997.
[17] J.-D. Albrecht, R.-P. Wang, P.-P. Rudena, M. Farahmand, and
K.-F. Brennan, Electron transport characteristics of GaN for high temperature device modeling, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 83, no. 9, pp. 47774781,
May 1998.
[18] M. Liang and M.-E. Law, Influence of lattice self-heating and hot-carrier
transport on devices performance, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 41,
no. 12, pp. 23912397, Dec. 1994.
[19] L. Braginsky, V. Shklover, H. Hofmann, and P. Bowen, High-temperature
thermal conductivity of porous Al2 O3 nanostructures, Phys. Rev. B,
Condens. Matter, vol. 70, no. 13, pp. 17, 2004. 134201.
[20] M. Reiser, On the stability of finite difference schemes in transient
semiconductor problems, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng., vol. 2,
no. 1, p. 65, Feb. 1973.

2242

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 53, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2006

[21] L. Ardaravicius, A. Matulionis, J. Liberis, O. Kiprijanovic, M. Ramonas,

L.-F. Eastman, J.-R. Shealy, and A. Vertiatchikh, Electron drift velocity
in AlGaN/GaN channel at high electric fields, Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 83,
no. 19, pp. 40384040, Nov. 2003.
[22] S. Nuttinck, B.-K. Wagner, B. Banerjee, S. Venkataraman, E. Gebara,
J. Laskar, and H. M. Harris, Thermal analysis of AlGaN-GaN
power HFETs, IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 51, no. 12,
pp. 24452452, Dec. 2003.

Brahim Benbakhti was born in Tlemcen, Algeria, in

1976. He received the Ingenior degree in electronics
and the M.S. degree in signals and systems from
the University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, in 1999 and
2002, respectively and the M.S. degree in microwave
and microtechnology from the University of Lille,
Villeneuve dAscq, France, in 2003. He is currently
working toward the Ph.D. degree, researching physical and thermal analysis of IIIV FETs for microwave power applications.
In 2003, he joined the Microwave Power Devices
Group, Institut dElectronique de Microlectronique et de Nanotechnologie,
Universit des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Villeneuve dAscq.

Michel Rousseau was born in Poitiers, France, in

1959. He received the Agregation degree in applied physics from the Ecole Normale Suprieure
de Cachan, Paris, France, in 1983 and the Doctorat
en Sciences degree from the University of Paris XI,
Orsay, France, in 1989.
Since 1995, he has been with the Institut
dElectronique de Microlectronique et de Nanotechnologie, Universit des Sciences et Technologies
de Lille, Villeneuve dAscq, France, working on the
physical modeling of FETs for microwave power
applications.

Ali Soltani was born in Saint-Etienne, France, in

1972. He received the M.S. degree in plasmas
and optoelectronics from the University of NancyI, Nancy, France and the University of Metz and
Suplec, France, in 1996 and the Ph.D. degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Metz
and Suplec, working on cubic boron nitride growth
by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition,
in 2001.
Since September 2002, he joined the Institut
dElectronique de Microlectronique et de Nanotechnologie, Universit des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Villeneuve
dAscq, France, as an Associate Professor of electronics. His current research
interests include microwave device technology for power applications and the
characterization of wide bandgap materials for microelectronic applications,
such as surface acoustic wave devices and ultraviolet detectors.

Jean-Claude De Jaeger was born in Lille, France,

in 1952. He received the third-cycle Doctorat degree
and the Doctorat degree in physics from the University of Lille, Villeneuve dAscq, France, in 1977 and
1985, respectively.
In 1974, he joined the Active Components Group,
Centre Hyperfrquences et semiconducteurs, University of Lille, where he has been a Professor of
electronics since 1991. From 1990 to 1999, he was
the Head of the Physical Simulation Devices Group,
Institut dElectronique et de Microlectronique et de
Nanotechnologie (IEMN), Universit des Sciences et Technologies de Lille,
Villeneuve dAscq, where he worked on the physical modeling and analysis of
IIIV FETs for power applications and mixers. Since 1999, he has been the
Head of the Microwave Power Devices Group, IEMN. Since 2002, he has also
been the Deputy Manager of TIGER, a common laboratory between IEMN and
the ALCATEL-THALES IIIV Laboratory. He is the author and coauthor of
more than 200 publications and communications. His research interests include
the simulation, design, fabrication, and measurement of power high-electron
mobility transistors based on GaAs, InP, and mainly GaN that work in the range
of 394 GHz.