Surface States in the AlxGa1-xN Barrier in AlxGa1-xN／GaN Heterostructures

Frequency-dependent capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements have been performed on modulation-doped Al0.22 Ga0.78N/GaN heterostructures to investigate the characteristics of the surface states in the AlxGa1-xN barrier. Numerical fittings based on the experimental data indicate that there are surface states with high density locating on the AlxGa1-xN barrier. The density of the surface states is about 10^12cm^-2eV^-1, and the time constant is about 1μs. It is found that an insulating layer (Si3N4) between the metal contact and the surface of AlxGa1-xN can passlvate the surface states effectively.     

Performance comparison of Pt/Au and Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlxGa1-x N/GaN heterostructures at high temperatures

In contrast with Au/Ni/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts,this paper systematically investigates the effect of thermal annealing of Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN structures on electrical properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN heterostructures by means of temperature-dependent Hall and temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements.The two-dimensional electron gas density of the samples with Pt cap layer increases after annealing in N 2 ambience at 600℃ while the annealing treatment has little effect on the two-dimensional electron gas mobility in comparison with the samples with Ni cap layer.The experimental results indicate that the Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts reduce the reverse leakage current density at high annealing temperatures of 400-600℃.As a conclusion,the better thermal stability of the Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts than the Au/Ni/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts at high temperatures can be attributed to the inertness of the interface between Pt and AlxGa1-xN.     

Leakage current reduction by thermal oxidation in Ni/Au Schottky contacts on lattice-matched In0.18Al0.82N/GaN heterostructures

By using temperature-dependent current–voltage, variable-frequency capacitance–voltage, and Hall measurements,the effects of the thermal oxidation on the electrical properties of Ni/Au Schottky contacts on lattice-matched In0.18Al0.82N/GaN heterostructures are investigated. Decrease of the reverse leakage current down to six orders of magnitude is observed after the thermal oxidation of the In0.18Al0.82N/GaN heterostructures at 700oC. It is confirmed that the reverse leakage current is dominated by the Frenkel–Poole emission, and the main origin of the leakage current is the emission of electrons from a trap state near the metal/semiconductor interface into a continuum of electronic states associated with the conductive dislocations in the InxAl1-xN barrier. It is believed that the thermal oxidation results in the formation of a thin oxide layer on the InxAl1-xN surface, which increases the electron emission barrier height.     

Performance Improvement of GaN Based Schottky Barrier Ultraviolet Photodetector by Adding a Thin A1GaN Window Layer

We propose a new structure of GaN based Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetector, in which a thin n-type A1GaN window layer is added on the conventional n^--GaN/n^＋-GaN device structure. The performance of the Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetector is found to be improved by the new structure. The simulation result shows that the new structure can reduce the negative effect of surface states on the performance of Schottky barrier GaN photodetectors, improving the quantum efficiency and decreasing the dark current. The investigations suggest that the new photodetector can exhibit a better responsivity by choosing a suitably high carrier concentration and thin thickness for the A1GaN window layer.     

Influence of Polarization Effects on the Energy Band of AlGaN／GaN／AlGaN Heterostructures

The unintentionally doped samples of Al0.22Ga0.78N/GaN/Al0.22Ga0.78N/GaN multi-heterostructures have been designed and fabricated. The polarization induced charge and free-carrier charge distributions have been demonstrated and the energy band profile has also been calculated. The results indicate the existence of two-dimensional     

Influence of Schottky drain contacts on the strained AlGaN barrier layer of AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

Rectangular Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) with different gate contact areas and conventional AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs as control were both fabricated with same size. It was found there is a significant difference between Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs and the control group both in drain series resistance and in two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) electron mobility in the gate-drain channel. We attribute this to the different influence of Ohmic drain contacts and Schottky drain contacts on the strained AlGaN barrier layer. For conventional AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs, annealing drain Ohmic contacts gives rise to a strain variation in the AlGaN barrier layer between the gate contacts and the drain contacts, and results in strong polarization Coulomb field scattering in this region. In Schottky drain AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs, the strain in the AlGaN barrier layer is distributed more regularly.     

The leakage current mechanisms in the Schottky diode with a thin Al layer insertion between Al0.245Ga0.755N/GaN heterostructure and Ni/Au Schottky contact

This paper investigates the behaviour of the reverse-bias leakage current of the Schottky diode with a thin Al inserting layer inserted between Al0.245Ga0.755 N/GaN heterostructure and Ni/Au Schottky contact in the temperature range of 25-350°C. It compares with the Schottky diode without Aluminium inserting layer. The experimental results show that in the Schottky diode with Al layer the minimum point of I-V curve drifts to the minus voltage, and with the increase of temperature increasing, the minimum point of I-V curve returns the 0 point. The temperature dependence of gate-leakage currents in the novelty diode and the traditional diode are studied. The results show that the Al inserting layer introduces interface states between metal and Al0.245Ga0.755N. Aluminium reacted with oxygen formed Al2O3 insulator layer which suppresses the trap tunnelling current and the trend of thermionic field emission current. The reliability of the diode at the high temperature is improved by inserting a thin Al layer.     

Improvement of Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al2O3/GaAs Interface Property by Sulfuration and NH3 Thermal Nitridation

Fermi level pinning at the interface between high-h gate dielectric and GaAs induced by unstable native oxides is a major obstacle for high performance GaAs-based metal-oxide-semiconductor （MOS） devices. We demonstrate the improved Al2O3/GaAs interracial characteristics by （NH4）2S immersion and NH3 thermal pretreatment prior to A1203 deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis confirms that sulfuration of GaAs surface by （NH4 ）2S solution can effectively reduce As-O bonds while Ga-O bonds and elemental As still exist at Al2O3 /GaAs interface. However, it is found that N incorporation during the further thermal nitridation on sulfurated GaAs can effectively suppress the native oxides and elemental As in the sequent deposition of Al2O3. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） shows that the further thermal nitridation on sulfurated GaAs surface can also improve the surface roughness.     

Growth and Optical Properties of Double Heterostructure GaN／InGaN／GaN Films with Large Composition

The double heterostructure GaN/InGaN/GaN films with different thicknesses of the InGaN layer were grown at 780℃ or 800℃ by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition.The samples were investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD),room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering.The dependences of the samples on both the growth temperature and the thickness of the InGaN layer were studied.The composition of InGaN was determined by the results of XRD,and the bowing parameter of InGaN was calculated in terms of the PL spectra.When the thickness of the InGaN layer was reduced,the phase separation of InGaN was found in some samples.The raman frequency of the A1(LO) and E2(low) modes in all the samples shifted and did not agree with Vegard‘s law.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Ion Implantation into HfO2 and HfO2／Si Multi-Layer Structure

We simulate the B, As and P implantations into HfO2 from 3keY to 40keY by a simulator LEACS developed based on molecular dynamics method and by the traditional Monte Carlo simulator TSUPREM4 respectively. The LEACS results accurately fit with the SIMS (secondary ion mass spectroscopy) data, while the TSUPREM4 results deviate from the SIMS data obviously except B implantation. Based on the verification of the simulator, influence of the oxide thickness on the retained range profiles in the Si layer has been quantitatively investigated in the case of HfO2/Si and SiO2/Si structures. The range profiles in the Si layer through HfO2 shift to the surface obviously for about 0.68 times of the oxide layer thickness on the average in comparison to those through SiO2. It can be predicted that this effect will have a significant impact on MOSFET (metallic oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) device performance in the integrated circuit process of the next decade if HfO2 is used to replace SiO2 as the gate dielectric.     

Leakage current reduction by thermal oxidation in Ni/Au Schottky contacts on lattice-matched Ino.18Al0.82N/GaN heterostructures

By using temperature-dependent current-voltage, variable-frequency capacitance-voltage, and Hall measurements, the effects of the thermal oxidation on the electrical properties of Ni/Au Schottky contacts on lattice-matched Ino.18Alo.82N/GaN heterostructures are investigated. Decrease of the reverse leakage current down to six orders of magni- tude is observed after the thermal oxidation of the Ino.18Alo.82N/GaN heterostructures at 700 ℃. It is confirmed that the reverse leakage current is dominated by the Frenkel-Poole emission, and the main origin of the leakage current is the emis- sion of electrons from a trap state near the metal/semiconductor interface into a continuum of electronic states associated with the conductive dislocations in the InxAll-xN barrier. It is believed that the thermal oxidation results in the formation of a thin oxide layer on the InxAll-xN surface, which increases the electron emission barrier height.     

Interfacial and electrical properties of HfAlO/GaSb metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with sulfur passivation

Interfacial and electrical properties of HfAlO/GaSb metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors(MOSCAPs) with sulfur passivation were investigated and the chemical mechanisms of the sulfur passivation process were carefully studied. It was shown that the sulfur passivation treatment could reduce the interface trap density Ditof the HfAlO/GaSb interface by 35% and reduce the equivalent oxide thickness(EOT) from 8 nm to 4 nm. The improved properties are due to the removal of the native oxide layer, as was proven by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and high-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy(HRXTEM) results. It was also found that GaSb-based MOSCAPs with HfAlO gate dielectrics have interfacial properties superior to those using HfO2 or Al2O3 dielectric layers.     

High-performing silicon-based germanium Schottky photodetector with ITO transparent electrode

A near-infrared germanium(Ge)Schottky photodetector(PD)with an ultrathin silicon(Si)barrier enhancement layer between the indium-doped tin oxide(ITO)electrode and Ge epilayer on Si or silicon-on-insulator(SOI)is proposed and fabricated.The well-behaved ITO/Si cap/Ge Schottky junctions without intentional doping process for the Ge epilayer are formed on the Si and SOI substrates.The Si-and SOI-based ITO/Si cap/Ge Schottky PDs exhibit low dark current densities of 33 mA/cm2 and 44 mA/cm2,respectively.Benefited from the high transmissivity of ITO electrode and the reflectivity of SOI substrate,an optical responsivity of 0.19 A/W at 1550 nm wavelength is obtained for the SOI-based ITO/Si cap/Ge Schottky PD.These complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor(CMOS)compatible Si(or SOI)-based ITO/Si cap/Ge Schottky PDs are quite useful for detecting near-infrared wavelengths with high efficiency.     

Comparison of electrical characteristic between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on A1N/GaN and A1GaN/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 A1GaN/GaN diode by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇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 heterostrncture 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 A1GaN/GaN diode.     

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.     

Thermal stability of tungsten and tungsten nitride Schottky contacts to AlGaN/GaN

Thin tungsten nitride (WNx) films were produced by reactive DC magnetron sputtering of tungsten in an Ar-N2 gas mixture. The films were used as Schottky contacts on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. The Schottky behaviours of WNx contact was investigated under various annealing conditions by current-voltage (I-V ) measurements. The results show that the gate leakage current was reduced to 10-6 A/cm2 when the N2 flow is 400 mL/min. The results also show that the WNx contact improved the thermal stability of Schottky contacts. Finally, the current transport mechanism in WNx/AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes has been investigated by means of I-V characterisation technique at various temperatures between 300 K and 523 K. A TE model with a Gaussian distribution of Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) is thought to be responsible for the electrical behaviour at temperatures lower than 523 K.     

Different influences of Schottky metal on the strain and relative permittivity of barrier layer between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/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 polarization sheet charge density and relative permittivity are analyzed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇s and Poisson＇s equations. It is found that the values of relative permittivity and polarization sheet charge density of AlN/GaN diode are both much smaller than the ones of AlGaN/GaN diode, and also much lower than the theoretical values. Moreover, by fitting the measured forward 1-V curves, the extracted dislocations existing in the barrier layer of the AlN/GaN diode are found to be much more than those of the AlGaN/GaN diode. As a result, the conclusion can be made that compared with AlGaN/GaN diode the Schottky metal has an enhanced influence on the strain of the extremely thinner AlN barrier layer, which is attributed to the more dislocations.     

Different influences of Schottky metal on the strain and relative permittivity of barrier layer 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 polarization sheet charge density and relative permittivity are analyzed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schrdinger’s and Poisson’s equations.It is found that the values of relative permittivity and polarization sheet charge density of AlN/GaN diode are both much smaller than the ones of AlGaN/GaN diode,and also much lower than the theoretical values.Moreover,by fitting the measured forward I–V curves,the extracted dislocations existing in the barrier layer of the AlN/GaN diode are found to be much more than those of the AlGaN/GaN diode.As a result,the conclusion can be made that compared with AlGaN/GaN diode the Schottky metal has an enhanced influence on the strain of the extremely thinner AlN barrier layer,which is attributed to the more dislocations.     

Determination of the series resistance under the Schottky contacts of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Rectangular AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) were fabricated,and the gate and the source of the HFETs consisted of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs).Based on the measured forward current-voltage and the capacitance-voltage characteristics of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs,the series resistance under the Schottky contacts (RS) was calculated using the method of power consumption,which has been proved to be valid.Finally,the method of power consumption for calculating R S was successfully used to study the two-dimensional electron gas electron mobility for a series of circular AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs.It is shown that the series resistance under the Schottky contacts cannot be neglected and is important for analysing and characterizing the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs and the AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs.     

Comparative Study of Properties of ZnO／GaN／Al203 and ZnO／Al203 Films Grown by Low－Pressure Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition

ZnO films were deposited by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition on epi-GaN/Al203 films and c-Al203 substrates. The structure and optical properties of the ZnO/GaN/Al203 and ZnO/Al203 films have been investigated to determine the differences between the two substrates. ZnO films on GaN/Al203 show very strong emission features associated with exciton transitions, just as ZnO films on Al2O3, while the crystalline structural qualities for ZnO films on GaN/Al2O3 are much better than those for ZnO films directly grown on Al203 substrates. Zn and O elements in the deposited ZnO/GaN/Al2O3 and ZnO/Al2O3 films are investigated and compared by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. According to the statistical results, the Zn/O ratio changes from Zn-rich for ZnO/Al2O3 films to O-rich for ZnO/GaN/Al2O3 films.