Comparison of electrical characteristic between AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated.Based on the measured current–voltage and capacitance–voltage curves,the electrical characteristics of AlN/GaN Schottky diode,such as Schottky barrier height,turn-on voltage,reverse breakdown voltage,ideal factor,and the current-transport mechanism,are analyzed and then compared with those of an AlGaN/GaN diode by self-consistently solving Schrdinger’s and Poisson’s equations.It is found that the dislocation-governed tunneling is dominant for both AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes.However,more dislocation defects and a thinner barrier layer for AlN/GaN heterostructure results in a larger tunneling probability,and causes a larger leakage current and lower reverse breakdown voltage,even though the Schottky barrier height of AlN/GaN Schottky diode is calculated to be higher that of an AlGaN/GaN diode.     

Mechanism of current leakage through metal/n-GaN interfaces

Detailed current–voltage–temperature (I–V–T) measurements were performed on the Schottky diodes fabricated on MOVPE-grown n-GaN layers. A large deviation from the thermionic emission (TE) transport was observed in the reverse I–V curves with a large excess leakage. From the calculation based on the thermionic-field emission (TFE) model, it was found that the tunneling plays an important role in the carrier transport across the GaN Schottky barrier even for doping densities as low as 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. A novel barrier-modified TFE model based on presence of near-surface fixed charges or surface states is proposed to explain the observed large reverse leakage currents.     

复合漏电模型建立及阶梯场板GaN肖特基势垒二极管设计

准垂直GaN肖特基势垒二极管(SBD)因其低成本和高电流传输能力而备受关注.但其主要问题在于无法很好地估计器件的反向特性,从而影响二极管的设计.本文考虑了GaN材料的缺陷以及多种漏电机制,建立了复合漏电模型,对准垂直Ga N SBD的特性进行了模拟,仿真结果与实验结果吻合.基于此所提模型设计出具有高击穿电压的阶梯型场板结构准垂直GaN SBD.根据漏电流、温度和电场在反向电压下的相关性,分析了漏电机制和器件耐压特性,设计的阶梯型场板结构准垂直GaN SBD的Baliga优值BFOM达到73.81 MW/cm~2.     

AlGaN/GaN肖特基结参数分析与电流运输机理研究

通过对AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件肖特基栅电流输运机理的研究,在变温下采用I-V法对AlGaN/GaN上的Ni/Au肖特基势垒高度和理想因子进行了计算. 通过对不同电流机理的分立研究,得到了更为准确的势垒高度值_b. 通过分析温度在300—550K之间肖特基反向泄漏电流的特性,得出结论：AlGaN材料的表面漏电不是HEMT器件反向泄漏电流的主要来源. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN异质结 肖特基结 理想因子     

晶格匹配InAlN/GaN异质结肖特基接触反向电流的电压与温度依赖关系

测量了晶格匹配InAlN/GaN异质结肖特基接触的反向变温电流-电压特性曲线,研究了反向漏电流的偏压与温度依赖关系.结果表明:1)电流是电压和温度的强函数,饱和电流远大于理论值,无法采用经典热发射模型解释;2)在低偏压区,数据满足ln(I/E)-E^1/2线性依赖关系,电流斜率和激活能与Frenkel-Poole模型的理论值接近,表明电流应该为FP机制占主导;3)在高偏压区,数据满足ln(I/E)-E^1/2线性依赖关系,电流斜率不随温度改变,表明Fowler-Nordheim隧穿机制占主导;4)反向电流势垒高度约为0.60 eV,远低于热发射势垒高度2.91 eV,表明可导位错应是反向漏电流的主要输运通道,局域势垒由于潜能级施主态电离而被极大降低.     

Role of Ga vacancies in enhancing the leakage current of GaN Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetectors

The leakage current of GaN Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetectors is investigated. It is found that the photodetectors adopting undoped GaN instead of lightly Si-doped GaN as an active layer show a much lower leakage current even when they have a higher dislocation density. It is also found that the density of Ga vacancies in undoped GaN is much lower than in Si-doped GaN. The Ga vacancies may enhance tunneling and reduce effective Schottky barrier height, leading to an increase of leakage current. It suggests that when undoped GaN is used as the active layer, it is necessary to reduce the leakage current of GaN Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetector.     

Modeling of trap-assisted tunneling in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with different Al mole fractions

Although significant progress has been achieved in GaN based high power/high frequency electronic devices, surface-related problems still need an immediate solution. In particular, leakage currents through Schottky contacts not only impede device reliability but also degrade power efficiency and noise performance in such devices. This article discusses the mechanism of leakage currents through GaN Schottky and AlGaN/GaN Schottky interfaces for both forward and reverse biases. A theoretical model for the calculation of currents based on trap-assisted tunneling is discussed. In the calculation the trap energy has been assumed as a fitting parameter which is about 0.48 eV for different Al mole fractions. The comparison of the results obtained with the existing experimental data in the literature shows a good agreement.     

Mechanism of improving forward and reverse blocking voltages in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by using Schottky drain

In this paper, we demonstrate that a Schottky drain can improve the forward and reverse blocking voltages(BVs)simultaneously in AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors(HEMTs). The mechanism of improving the two BVs is investigated by analysing the leakage current components and by software simulation. The forward BV increases from72 V to 149 V due to the good Schottky contact morphology. During the reverse bias, the buffer leakage in the Ohmicdrain HEMT increases significantly with the increase of the negative drain bias. For the Schottky-drain HEMT, the buffer leakage is suppressed effectively by the formation of the depletion region at the drain terminal. As a result, the reverse BV is enhanced from-5 V to-49 V by using a Schottky drain. Experiments and the simulation indicate that a Schottky drain is desirable for power electronic applications.     

Transport mechanism of reverse surface leakage current in AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor with SiN passivation

The transport mechanism of reverse surface leakage current in the AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor(HEMT) becomes one of the most important reliability issues with the downscaling of feature size.In this paper,the research results show that the reverse surface leakage current in AlGaN/GaN HEMT with SiN passivation increases with the enhancement of temperature in the range from 298 K to 423 K.Three possible transport mechanisms are proposed and examined to explain the generation of reverse surface leakage current.By comparing the experimental data with the numerical transport models,it is found that neither Fowler-Nordheim tunneling nor Frenkel-Poole emission can describe the transport of reverse surface leakage current.However,good agreement is found between the experimental data and the two-dimensional variable range hopping(2D-VRH) model.Therefore,it is concluded that the reverse surface leakage current is dominated by the electron hopping through the surface states at the barrier layer.Moreover,the activation energy of surface leakage current is extracted,which is around 0.083 eV.Finally,the SiN passivated HEMT with a high Al composition and a thin AlGaN barrier layer is also studied.It is observed that 2D-VRH still dominates the reverse surface leakage current and the activation energy is around 0.10 eV,which demonstrates that the alteration of the AlGaN barrier layer does not affect the transport mechanism of reverse surface leakage current in this paper.     

SiC Schottky结反向特性的研究

对Ti/6H-SiC Schottky结的反向特性进行了测试和理论分析，提出了一种综合的包括SiC Schottky结主要反向漏电流产生机理的反向隧穿电流模型，该模型考虑了Schottky势垒不均匀性、Ti/SiC界面层电压降和镜像力对SiC Schottky结反向特性的影响，模拟结果和测量值的相符说明了以上所考虑因素是引起SiC Schottky结反向漏电流高于常规计算值的主要原因.分析结果表明在一般工作条件下SiC Schottky结的反向特性主要是由场发射和热电子场发射电流决定的.     

Leakage current and sub-bandgap photo-response of oxygen-plasma treated GaN Schottky barrier diodes

The effect of oxygen plasma treatment on the performance of GaN Schottky barrier diodes is studied. The GaN surface is intentionally exposed to oxygen plasma generated in an inductively coupled plasma etching system before Schottky metal deposition. The reverse leakage current of the treated diodes is suppressed in low bias range with enhanced diode ideality factor and series resistance. However, in high bias range the treated diodes exhibit higher reverse leakage current and corresponding lower breakdown voltage. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals the growth of a thin GaO_x layer on GaN surface during oxygen plasma treatment. Under sub-bandgap light illumination, the plasma-treated diodes show larger photovoltaic response compared with that of untreated diodes, suggesting that additional defect states at GaN surface are induced by the oxygen plasma treatment.     

晶格匹配In_(0.17)Al_(0.83)N/GaN异质结电容散射机制

制备了晶格匹配In_(0.17)Al_(0.83)N/GaN异质结圆形平面结构肖特基二极管,通过测试和拟合器件的电容-频率曲线,研究了电容的频率散射机制.结果表明:在频率高于200 kHz后,积累区电容随频率出现增加现象,而传统的电容模型无法解释该现象.通过考虑漏电流、界面态和串联电阻等影响对传统模型进行修正,修正后的电容频率散射模型与实验结果很好地符合,表明晶格匹配In_(0.17)Al_(0.83)N/GaN异质结电容随频率散射是漏电流、界面态和串联电阻共同作用的结果.     

穿透型V形坑对GaN基p-i-n结构紫外探测器反向漏电的影响

研究了GaN基p-i-n（p-AlGaN/i-GaN/n-GaN）结构紫外探测器的漏电机理．实验发现,在位错密度几乎相同的情况下,基于表面有较高密度的V形坑缺陷材料制备的器件表现出较高的反向漏电．进一步的SEM测试发现,这种V形坑穿透到有源区i-GaN、甚至n-GaN层．在制备p-AlGaN电极时,许多金属会落在V形坑中,从而与i-GaN形成了肖特基接触,有些甚至直接和n-GaN形成欧姆接触．正是由于并联的肖特基接触和欧姆接触的存在导致了漏电的增加． 关键词： GaN 紫外探测器 V形坑 反向漏电     

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     

High-temperature current conduction through three kinds of Schottky diodes

Fundamentals of the Schottky contacts and the high-temperature current conduction through three kinds of Schottky diodes are studied. N-Si Schottky diodes, GaN Schottky diodes and AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes are investigated by I--V--T measurements ranging from 300 to 523~K. For these Schottky diodes, a rise in temperature is accompanied with an increase in barrier height and a reduction in ideality factor. Mechanisms are suggested, including thermionic emission, field emission, trap-assisted tunnelling and so on. The most remarkable finding in the present paper is that these three kinds of Schottky diodes are revealed to have different behaviours of high-temperature reverse currents. For the n-Si Schottky diode, a rise in temperature is accompanied by an increase in reverse current. The reverse current of the GaN Schottky diode decreases first and then increases with rising temperature. The AlGaN/GaN Schottky diode has a trend opposite to that of the GaN Schottky diode, and the dominant mechanisms are the effects of the piezoelectric polarization field and variation of two-dimensional electron gas charge density.     

Barrier lowering and leakage current reduction in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes with an oxygen-treated GaN cap layer

We report on the effect of oxygen annealing for GaN surface on the Schottky barrier configuration and leakage current in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes. After oxygen annealing, their turn-on voltage and reverse-bias leakage current characteristics are significantly improved due to a reduction in the Schottky barrier height (SBH) and suppression in the surface states respectively. Interface state density extracted from the Terman method was reduced by 2 orders of magnitude. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the oxygen annealing induces Ga₂O₃ on the GaN surface. The formation of Ga₂O₃ reduces the interface state density as well as lowers the SBH through the modification of hybridized metal induced gap states.     

Mechanism and control of current transport in GaN and AlGaN Schottky barriers for chemical sensor applications

Strong interests are recently emerging for development of integrated high-performance chemical sensor chips. In this paper, the present status of understanding and controlling the current transport in the GaN and AlGaN Schottky diodes is discussed from the viewpoint of chemical sensor applications. For this purpose, a series of works recently carried out by our group are reviewed in addition to a general discussion. First, current transport in GaN and AlGaN Schottky barriers is discussed, introducing the thin surface barrier (TSB) model to explain the anomalously large leakage currents. Following this, attempts to reduce the leakage currents are presented and discussed. Then, as an example of gas-phase sensors using Schottky barriers, a Pd/AlGaN/GaN Schottky diode hydrogen sensor developed recently by our group is presented with a discussion on the sensing mechanism and related current transport. On the other hand, in liquid-phase sensors, contact is made between liquid and semiconductor which is regarded as a kind of Schottky barrier by electrochemists. As one of such liquid-phase sensors, open-gate AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) pH sensor developed recently by our group is presented. Finally, a brief summary is given together with some remarks for future research.     

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.     

GaN基MIS紫外探测器的电学及光电特性

制备了GaN基金属-绝缘层-半导体(MIS)结构紫外探测器,并测量了其暗电流和光谱响应。通过分析其暗电流,发现在反偏情况下,其主要电流输运机制为隧穿复合机制;在正偏情况下,随着偏压的增大,电流输运机制从隧穿机制变为空间电荷限制电流机制。光谱响应测试结果显示,该探测器在-5 V的偏压下,在315 nm处获得了最大响应度170 mA/W,探测度为2.3×10¹² cm·Hz^1/2·W^-1。此外,还研究了不同厚度I层对器件光电压的影响,结果表明,光电压受隧穿机制与漏电流机制的共同制约。     

Ni/Au/n-GaN肖特基二极管可导位错的电学模型

可导线性位错被普遍认为是GaN基器件泄漏电流的主要输运通道,但其精细的电学模型目前仍不清楚.鉴于此,本文基于对GaN肖特基二极管的电流输运机制分析提出可导位错的物理模型,重点强调:1)位于位错中心的深能级受主态(主要Ga空位)电离后库仑势较高,理论上对泄漏电流没有贡献; 2)位错周围的高浓度浅能级施主态电离后能形成势垒高度较低的薄表面耗尽层,可引发显著隧穿电流,成为主要漏电通道;3)并非传统N空位,认为O替代N所形成的浅能级施主缺陷应是引发漏电的主要电学态,其热激活能约为47.5 meV.本工作亦有助于理解其他GaN器件的电流输运和电学退化行为.