A nitride semiconductor device includes a SiC substrate having a hexagonal crystal structure and including a main surface inclined with respect to a c-plane at an off-angle from 2 to 6 in a specific crystal direction, a nitride semiconductor layer located on the main surface of the SiC substrate and including an electron transit layer and an electron supply layer, and a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode located on the nitride semiconductor layer. The main surface is parallel to a first direction, a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and a third direction coinciding with the specific crystal direction in plan view. The source electrode and the drain electrode are separated in the first direction. The gate electrode extends in the second direction between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The first direction intersects the third direction at an angle of 9015.

A nitride semiconductor device includes a SiC substrate having a hexagonal crystal structure and including a main surface inclined with respect to a c-plane at an off-angle from 2 to 6 in a specific crystal direction, a nitride semiconductor layer located on the main surface of the SiC substrate and including an electron transit layer and an electron supply layer, and a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode located on the nitride semiconductor layer. The main surface is parallel to a first direction, a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and a third direction coinciding with the specific crystal direction in plan view. The source electrode and the drain electrode are separated in the first direction. The gate electrode extends in the second direction between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The first direction intersects the third direction at an angle of 9015.

A semiconductor device includes a GaN FET on a silicon substrate and a buffer layer of III-N semiconductor material, with a columnar region, a transition region surrounding the columnar region, and an inter-columnar region around the transition region. The columnar region is higher than the inter-columnar region. The GaN FET includes a gate of III-N semiconductor material with a thickness greater than twice the vertical range of the top surface of the buffer layer in the columnar region. A difference between the gate thickness over the columnar region and over the transition region is less than half of the vertical range of the top surface of the buffer layer in the columnar surface. The semiconductor device may be formed by forming a gate layer of III-N semiconductor material over the barrier layer by a gate MOVPE process using a carrier gas that includes zero to 40 percent hydrogen gas.

According to one embodiment, a nitride semiconductor includes a base body, a nitride member, and an intermediate region provided between the base body and the nitride member. The nitride member includes a first nitride region including Al.sub.x1Ga.sub.1-x1N (0<x11), and a second nitride region including Al.sub.x2Ga.sub.1-x2N (0x2<1, x2<x1). The first nitride region is between the intermediate region and the second nitride region. The intermediate region includes nitrogen and carbon. A concentration of carbon in the intermediate region is not less than 1.510.sup.19/cm.sup.3 and not more than 610.sup.20/cm.sup.3.

In an embodiment, a Group III nitride-based transistor device includes a first passivation layer arranged on a first major surface of a Group III nitride-based layer, a second passivation layer arranged on the first passivation layer, a source ohmic contact, a drain ohmic contact and a gate positioned on the first major surface of a Group III nitride-based layer, and a field plate, the field plate being laterally arranged between and spaced apart from the gate and the drain ohmic contact.

A high electron mobility transistor includes a substrate, a semiconductor channel layer, a semiconductor barrier layer, a gate field plate, a source electrode, at least one first field plate, and a second field plate. The gate field plate is disposed on the semiconductor barrier layer. The source electrode is disposed on one side of the gate field plate, and the first field plate is disposed on the other side of the gate field plate and laterally spaced apart from the gate field plate. The second field plate covers the gate field plate and the first field plate and is electrically connected to the source electrode, where the area of the second field plate is larger than the sum of the area of the gate field plate and the area of the first field plate when perceived from a top-down perspective.

Material systems for source region, drain region, and a semiconductor body of transistor devices in which the semiconductor body is electrically insulated from an underlying substrate are selected to reduce or eliminate a band to band tunneling (BTBT) effect between different energetic bands of the semiconductor body and one or both of the source region and the drain region. This can be accomplished by selecting a material for the semiconductor body with a band gap that is larger than a band gap for material(s) selected for the source region and/or drain region.

A method of forming a film can include heating a CVD reactor chamber containing a substrate to a temperature range between about 750 degrees Centigrade and about 950 degrees Centigrade, providing a first precursor comprising Al to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, providing a second precursor comprising Sc to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, providing a third precursor comprising nitrogen to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, and forming the film comprising ScAlN on the substrate.

A method for fabricating high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) includes the steps of: forming a buffer layer on a substrate; forming a barrier layer on the buffer layer; forming a hard mask on the barrier layer; performing an implantation process through the hard mask to form a doped region in the barrier layer and the buffer layer; removing the hard mask and the barrier layer to form a first trench; forming a gate dielectric layer on the hard mask and into the first trench; forming a gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer; and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode adjacent to two sides of the gate electrode.

A heterostructure, includes: a substrate; and a buffer layer that includes a plurality of layers having a composition Al.sub.xIn.sub.yGa.sub.1-x-yN, where x1 and y0; wherein the buffer layer has a first region that includes at least two layers, a second region that includes at least two layers, and a third region that includes at least two layers.