AlGaN barrier thickness dependent surface and interface trapping characteristics of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

The aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) barrier thickness dependent trapping characteristic of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is investigated in detail by frequency dependent conductance measurements. The conductance measurementsin the depletion region biases (−4.8 V to −3.2 V) shows that the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure suffers from both the surface (the metal/AlGaN interface of the gate region) and interface (the AlGaN/GaN interface of the channel region) trapping states, whereas the AlGaN/GaN structure with a thicker AlGaN barrier (25 nm) layer suffers from only interface (the channel region of AlGaN/GaN) trap energy states in the bias region (−6 V to −4.2). The two extracted time constants of the trap levels are (2.6–4.59) μs (surface) and (113.4–33.8) μs (interface) for the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure in the depletion region of biases (−4.8 V to −3.2 V), whereas the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N (25 nm)/GaN structure yields only interface trap states with time constants of (86.8–33.3) μs in the voltage bias range of −6.0 V to −4.2 V. The extracted surface trapping time constants are found to be very muchless in the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN heterostructure compared to that of the interface trap states. The higher electric field formation across the AlGaN barrier causes de-trapping of the surface trapped electron through a tunnelling process for the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure, and hence the time constants of the surface trap are less.     

Al2O3绝缘层的AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMT器件研究

在研制AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件的基础上,采用ALD法制备了Al₂O₃ AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMT器件.通过X射线光电子能谱测试表明在AlGaN/GaN异质结材料上成功淀积了Al₂O₃薄膜.根据对HEMT和MOSHEMT器件肖特基电容、器件输出以及转移特性的测试进行分析发现：所制备的Al₂O₃薄膜与AlGaN外延层间界面态密度较小,因而MOSHEMT器件呈现出较 关键词： 2O₃')" href="#">Al₂O₃ ALD GaN MOSHEMT     

Sodium beta-alumina thin films as gate dielectrics for A1GaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors

<正>Sodium beta-alumina（SBA） is deposited on AlGaN/GaN by using a co-deposition process with sodium and Al₂O₃ as the precursors.The X-ray diffraction（XRD） spectrum reveals that the deposited thin film is amorphous.The binding energy and composition of the deposited thin film,obtained from the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） measurement,are consistent with those of SBA.The dielectric constant of the SBA thin film is about 50.Each of the capacitance-voltage characteristics obtained at five different frequencies shows a high-quality interface between SBA and AlGaN.The interface trap density of metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor（MISHEMT） is measured to be（3.5～9.5）×10¹⁰ cm^-2·eV^-1 by the conductance method.The fixed charge density of SBA dielectric is on the order of 2.7×10¹² cm^-2.Compared with the AlGaN/GaN metal-semiconductor heterostructure high-electronmobility transistor（MESHEMT）,the AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT usually has a threshold voltage that shifts negatively. However,the threshold voltage of the AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT using SBA as the gate dielectric shifts positively from—5.5 V to—3.5 V.From XPS results,the surface valence-band maximum（VBM-E_F） of AlGaN is found to decrease from 2.56 eV to 2.25 eV after the SBA thin film deposition.The possible reasons why the threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT with the SBA gate dielectric shifts positively are the influence of SBA on surface valence-band maximum （VBM-E_F）,the reduction of interface traps and the effects of sodium ions,and/or the fixed charges in SBA on the two-dimensional electron gas（2DEG）.     

The improvement of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT performance by N2 plasma pretreatment

This paper discusses the effect of N 2 plasma treatment before dielectric deposition on the electrical performance of a Al2O3 /AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor(MISHEMT),with Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition.The results indicated that the gate leakage was decreased two orders of magnitude after the Al2O3 /AlGaN interface was pretreated by N 2 plasma.Furthermore,effects of N 2 plasma pretreatment on the electrical properties of the AlGaN/Al2O3 interface were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and the interface quality between Al2O3 and AlGaN film was improved.     

Two-dimensional electron gas densities in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

The dependence of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density and distribution in an Al_xGa_1-xN/AlN/GaN heterostructure on the thicknesses of the Al_xGa_1-xN barrier layer and the AlN interfacial layer are investigated theoretically. A competitive contribution of the AlGaN and AlN layers to the 2DEG density is revealed. For an AlN interfacial layer thinner than a critical value d_cAlN, the 2DEG density is dominated by the AlGaN barrier and the 2DEG density increases with the increase of the AlGaN barrier thickness, as in the case of a simple AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. While the AlN interfacial layer will take the dominant contribution to the 2DEG density as its thickness exceeds d_cAlN. In this case, the increase of AlGaN barrier layer thickness leads to the decrease of the 2DEG density. Detailed calculations show that the critical AlN thickness increases with the increase of Al content in the AlGaN barrier. PACS 85.30.De; 73.40.Kp; 02.60.Cb     

Effects of DC and AC stress on the VT shift of AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs

AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs with adjusted V_T were fabricated using a recess gate to investigate the effect on actual operation when the polarity of the gate voltage is opposite in the on- and off-state. The direction and time exponents of V_T shift depend on the polarity of the gate bias stress. Electrons detrapping from the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface trap site to AlGaN under negative gate bias stress has to overcome the energy barrier, resulting in a higher temperature dependence. In addition, the unaffected g_m and SS show that the degradation occurred primarily at the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface rather than channel or mobility degradation. For unipolar and bipolar AC stresses, the time exponent of the V_T shift during stress time has two values, and a relatively low value during relaxation after bipolar AC stress. These results may be due to the further degradation by V_min at the broader energy levels of the Al₂O₃/AlGaN interface.     

具有部分本征GaN帽层新型AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管特性分析

为了优化传统Al GaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管(high electron mobility transistors,HEMTs)器件的表面电场,提高击穿电压,本文提出了一种具有部分本征GaN帽层的新型Al GaN/GaN HEMTs器件结构.新型结构通过在Al GaN势垒层顶部、栅电极到漏电极的漂移区之间引入部分本征GaN帽层,由于本征GaN帽层和Al GaN势垒层界面处的极化效应,降低了沟道二维电子气(two dimensional electron gas,2DEG)的浓度,形成了栅边缘低浓度2DEG区域,使得沟道2DEG浓度分区,由均匀分布变为阶梯分布.通过调制沟道2DEG的浓度分布,从而调制了Al GaN/GaN HEMTs器件的表面电场.利用电场调制效应,产生了新的电场峰,且有效降低了栅边缘的高峰电场,Al GaN/GaN HEMTs器件的表面电场分布更加均匀.利用ISE-TCAD软件仿真分析得出:通过设计一定厚度和长度的本征GaN帽层,Al GaN/GaN HEMTs器件的击穿电压从传统结构的427 V提高到新型结构的960 V.由于沟道2DEG浓度减小,沟道电阻增加,使得新型Al GaN/GaN HEMTs器件的最大输出电流减小了9.2%,截止频率几乎保持不变,而最大振荡频率提高了12%.     

Monte Carlo simulations of GaN cold cathodes

Ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of electron transport through a new aluminum gallium nitride/gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) cold cathode emitter are reported. We analyze the energy spectrum of carriers prior to being injected into a low work function slab of Lanthanum Hexaboride (LaB₆) as a function of the ramp energy of the carriers at the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction. Plasmon scattering is shown to be the major scattering mechanism in the structure leading to substantial shift towards the low kinetic energy end of the energy spectrum of the carriers injected into the low work function Lanthanum Hexaboride thin film. Intervalley scattering is found to dominate in the depletion layer at the GaN/LaB₆interface. Design improvements to increase the efficiency of the cold cathode are suggested.     

Temperature-dependent current conduction mechanism and charge trapping in Ta2O5 RF-sputtered on GaN

A gallium nitride (GaN) based Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor was fabricated using radio frequency (RF)-sputtered tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅) as the high-k gate dielectric. Electrical characteristics of this capacitor were evaluated via capacitance–voltage (C–V), current–voltage (I–V), and interface trap density (D_it) measurements with emphasis on the substrate temperature dependence ranging from 25 °C to 200 °C. Charge trapping and conduction mechanism in Ta₂O₅ were investigated. The experimental results suggested that higher substrate temperature rendered higher oxide capacitance, reduced gate leakage current, and lowered mid-gap interface trap density at the expenses of high border traps and high fixed oxide charges. The gate leakage current through Ta₂O₅ was found to obey the Ohm's conduction at lower gate bias and the Poole–Frenkel conduction at higher gate bias.     

Characterization of Al2O3 /GaN/AlGaN/GaN metalinsulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors with different gate recess depths

In this paper,in order to solve the interface-trap issue and enhance the transconductance induced by high-k dielectric in metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs),we demonstrate better performances of recessed-gate Al 2 O 3 MIS-HEMTs which are fabricated by Fluorine-based Si 3 N 4 etching and chlorinebased AlGaN etching with three etching times (15 s,17 s and 19 s).The gate leakage current of MIS-HEMT is about three orders of magnitude lower than that of AlGaN/GaN HEMT.Through the recessed-gate etching,the transconductance increases effectively.When the recessed-gate depth is 1.02 nm,the best interface performance with τ it =(0.20-1.59) μs and D it =(0.55-1.08)×10 12 cm 2 ·eV 1 can be obtained.After chlorine-based etching,the interface trap density reduces considerably without generating any new type of trap.The accumulated chlorine ions and the N vacancies in the AlGaN surface caused by the plasma etching can degrade the breakdown and the high frequency performances of devices.By comparing the characteristics of recessed-gate MIS-HEMTs with different etching times,it is found that a low power chlorine-based plasma etching for a short time (15 s in this paper) can enhance the performances of MIS-HEMTs effectively.     

Stress relaxation of GaN microstructures on a graphene‐buffered Al2O3 substrate

GaN microstructures were grown on c‐Al₂O₃ with a multi‐stacked graphene buffered layer using metal metal‐organic chemical‐vapor deposition. Under the same growth conditions, the nucleation of GaN was suppressed by the low surface energy of graphene, resulting in a much lower density of microstructures relative to those grown on c‐Al₂O₃. Residual stress in the GaN microstructures was estimated from the peak shift of the E₂ phonon using micro‐Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the compressive stress of approximately 0.36 GPa in GaN on c‐Al₂O₃ caused by lattice mismatch and the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient was relaxed by introducing the graphene layer. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High temperature electron transport properties of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with different Al-contents

Electron transport properties in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with different Al-contents have been investigated from room temperature up to 680 K. The temperature dependencies of electron mobility have been systematically measured for the samples. The electron mobility at 680 K were measured as 154 and 182 cm²/V·s for Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN and Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructures, respectively. It was found that the electron mobility of low Al-content Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN heterostructure was less than that of high Al-content Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructure at high temperature of 680 K, which is different from that at room temperature. Detailed analysis showed that electron occupations in the first subband were 75% and 82% at 700 K for Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN and Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructures, respectively, and the two dimensional gas (2DEG) ratios in the whole electron system were 30% and near 60%, respectively. That indicated the 2DEG was better confined in the well, and was still dominant in the whole electron system for higher Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructure at 700 K, while lower one was not. Thus it had a higher electron mobility. So a higher Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is more suitable for high-temperature applications.     

Temperature characterization of Raman scattering in an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

Raman scattering from an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure was performed in the temperature range from 77 to 773 K. The first- and second-order Raman scattering of the A₁ longitudinal-optical phonon–plasmon coupled mode from an AlGaN/GaN interface as well as the Raman scattering from the GaN layer were observed. All the modes downshift, and their intensities weaken with increasing temperature. The free-carrier concentration estimated by the frequency of the coupled mode from an AlGaN/GaN interface is 7.5 times as high as that of n-AlGaN, indicating mass free-carrier transfer from the AlGaN barrier to the GaN well. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the phonon frequency is well described by an empirical formula. PACS 78.30.Fs; 63.20.Ls; 61.82.Fk; 68.60.Dv; 81.15.Gh     

Direct-current and radio-frequency characteristics of passivated AlGaN/GaN/Si high electron mobility transistors

AlGaN/GaN/Si HEMTs grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been investigated using spectroscopy capacitance, direct and pulse current–voltage and small-signal microwave measurements. Passivation of the HEMT devices by SiO₂/SiN with NH₃ and N₂O pretreatments is made in order to reduce the trapping effects. As has been found from DLTS data, some of electron traps are eliminated after passivation. This has led to an improvement in the drain current. To describe the electron transport, we have developed a charge-control model by including the deep traps observed from DLTS experiments. The thermal and trapping effects have been, on the other hand, studied from a comparison between direct-current and pulsed conditions. As a result, a gate-lag and a drain-lag were revealed indicating the presence of deep lying centers in the gate-drain spacing. Finally, small-signal microwave results have shown that the radio-frequency parameters of the AlGaN/GaN/Si transistors are improved by SiO₂/SiN passivation and more increasingly with N₂O pretreatment.     

The effects of GaN capping layer thickness on two-dimensional electron mobility in GaN/AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

In this paper we present a study of the effect of GaN capping layer thickness on the two-dimensional (2D)-electron mobility and the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet density which is formed near the AlGaN barrier/buffer GaN layer. This study is undertaken using a fully numerical calculation for GaN/Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterostructures with different Al mole fraction in the Al_xGa_1−xN barrier, and for various values of barrier layer thickness. The results of our analysis clearly indicate that increasing the GaN capping layer thickness leads to a decrease in the 2DEG density. Furthermore, it is found that the room-temperature 2D-electron mobility reaches a maximum value of approximately 1.8×10³ cm² /Vs⁻¹ for GaN capping layer thickness grater than 100 Å with an Al_0.32Ga_0.68N barrier layer of 200 Å thick. In contrast, for same structure, the 2DEG density decreases monotonically with GaN capping layer thickness, and eventually saturates at approximately 6×10¹² cm⁻² for capping layer thickness greater than 500 Å. A comparison between our calculated results with published experimental data is shown to be in good agreement for GaN capping layers up to 500 Å thickness.     

Deformation of AlGaN/GaN superlattice layers according to x-ray diffraction data

Three-crystal x-ray diffractometry is used for structural studies of nitride AlGaN/GaN superlattices (SLs) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on sapphire with GaN and AlGaN buffer layers with widely varied SL period (from 50 to 3500 Å), Al content in Al_x Ga_1?x N layers (0.1≤x≤0.5), and buffer layer composition. Satellite peaks characteristic of SLs are well pronounced up to the third order in θ-2θ scans of symmetric Bragg reflections and θ scans of the symmetric Laue geometry. The corresponding curves are well modeled by kinematic formulas. The average SL parameters, as well as the thickness, composition, and strain of individual layers, are determined using a combination of symmetric Bragg and Laue reflections. It is shown that all the samples under study are partially relaxed structures in which the elastic stresses between the entire SL and the buffer layer, as well as between individual layers, are relaxed. The AlGaN layers are stretched and the GaN layers are compressed. The GaN layer compression is larger in magnitude than the AlGaN layer tension because of thermoelastic stresses.     

Influence of thermal stress on the characteristic parameters of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky contacts

Ni Schottky contacts on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures have been fabricated. The samples are then thermally treated in a furnace with N₂ ambient at 600 ^circC for different times (0.5, 4.5, 10.5, 18, 33, 48 and 72 h). Current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) relationships are measured, and Schrödinger's and Poisson's equations are self-consistently solved to obtain the characteristic parameters related to AlGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky contacts: the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet density, the polarization sheet charge density, the 2DEG distribution in the triangle quantum well and the Schottky barrier height for each thermal stressing time. Most of the above parameters reduce with the increase of stressing time, only the parameter of the average distance of the 2DEG from the AlGaN/GaN interface increases with the increase of thermal stressing time. The changes of the characteristic parameters can be divided into two stages. In the first stage the strain in the AlGaN barrier layer is present. In this stage the characteristic parameters change rapidly compared with those in the second stage in which the AlGaN barrier layer is relaxed and no strain is present.     

Columnar AlGaN/GaN nanocavities with AlN/GaN Bragg reflectors grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111)

Self-assembled columnar AlGaN/GaN nanocavities, with an active region of GaN quantum disks embedded in an AlGaN nanocolumn and cladded by top and bottom AlN/GaN Bragg mirrors, were grown. The nanocavity has no cracks or extended defects, due to the relaxation at the Si interface and to the nanocolumn free-surface to volume ratio. The emission from the active region matched the peak reflectivity by tuning the Al content and the GaN disks thickness. Quantum confinement effects that depend on both the disk thickness and the inhomogeneous strain distribution within the disks are clearly observed.     

Structural characterization of Mg substituted on A/B sites in $$\hbox {NiFe}_2\hbox {O}_4$$ nanoparticles using autocombustion method

A compact quantitative model based on oxide semiconductor interface density of states (DOS) is proposed for Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/GaN metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MOSHEMT). Mathematical expressions for surface potential, sheet charge concentration, gate capacitance and threshold voltage have been derived. The gate capacitance behaviour is studied in terms of capacitance–voltage (CV) characteristics. Similarly, the predicted threshold voltage (V _T) is analysed by varying barrier thickness and oxide thickness. The positive V _T obtained for a very thin 3 nm AlGaN barrier layer enables the enhancement mode operation of the MOSHEMT. These devices, along with depletion mode devices, are basic constituents of cascode configuration in power electronic circuits. The expressions developed are used in conventional long-channel HEMT drain current equation and evaluated to obtain different DC characteristics. The obtained results are compared with experimental data taken from literature which show good agreement and hence endorse the proposed model.     

Carrier transport mechanism of strained AlGaN/GaN Schottky contacts

Using polarization field effect-based thermionic field emission (PFE-TFE) model based on current–voltage–temperature data, possible carrier transport mechanisms for Pt/Au and Cr/Pd Schottky contacts to Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/GaN layers were investigated. Thermionic emission (TE) model was also investigated to compare to the PFE-TFE. It was shown that Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) are significantly affected by a polarization field-induced carrier density of the AlGaN layer. In addition, relatively little temperature dependence on the leakage current density of both contacts was found, which is in good agreement with the PFE-TFE model. The results indicate that the TFE is responsible for the current flow across the metal/AlGaN–GaN interface at T ≥ 293 K.