两步氧化法制备β-Ga2O3薄膜

为获得高质量的β-Ga_2O_3薄膜,对传统的GaN薄膜高温氧化方法进行了优化。我们通过对GaN薄膜分别进行一步或两步高温氧化的方法制备了β-Ga_2O_3薄膜,并通过X射线衍射、场发射扫描电子显微镜、拉曼光谱等对制备的样品进行了测试、对比与分析。结果表明,950℃下GaN薄膜无法完全氧化,而直接1 150℃氧化得到的样品并没有明显的晶向。相比之下,通过两步氧化法,GaN薄膜被完全氧化,且得到的β-Ga_2O_3薄膜具有明显的沿■方向的晶向,样品表面显示出明显的纳米线结构。最佳的氧化时间为在950℃下氧化3 h之后在1 150℃下氧化1 h,此时得到样品的纳米线结构最明显,其纳米线的直径约为30～40 nm。拉曼光谱测试证实了该条件下获得的样品具有较高的晶体质量。通过分析不同样品结构以及形貌特性,我们发现不同温度下的不同氧化模式是导致该结果的主要原因。     

High-performance 4H-SiC p-i-n ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes with large active area

Ultraviolet(UV) detectors with large photosensitive areas are more advantageous in low-level UV detection applications. In this Letter, high-performance 4 H-SiC p-i-n avalanche photodiodes(APDs) with large active area(800 μm diameter) are reported. With the optimized epitaxial structure and device fabrication process,a high multiplication gain of 1.4 × 10~6 is obtained for the devices at room temperature, and the dark current is as low as ～10 p A at low reverse voltages. In addition, record external quantum efficiency of 85.5% at 274 nm is achieved, which is the highest value for the reported Si C APDs. Furthermore, the rejection ratio of UV to visible light reaches about 10~4. The excellent performance of our devices indicates a tremendous improvement for largearea SiC APD-based UV detectors. Finally, the UV imaging performance of our fabricated 4 H-SiC p-i-n APDs is also demonstrated for system-level applications.     

Influence of the channel electric field distribution on the polarization Coulomb field scattering in In0.18Al0.82N/AIN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

By making use of the quasi-two-dimensional （quasi-2D） model, the current-voltage （l-V） characteristics of In0AsA10.82N/A1N/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors （HFETs） with different gate lengths are simulated based on the measured capacitance-voltage （C-V） characteristics and I-V characteristics. By analyzing the variation of the electron mobility for the two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） with electric field, it is found that the different polarization charge distributions generated by the different channel electric field distributions can result in different polarization Coulomb field scatterings. The difference between the electron mobilities primarily caused by the polarization Coulomb field scatterings can reach up to 1522.9 cm2/V.s for the prepared In0.38AI0.82N/A1N/GaN HFETs. In addition, when the 2DEG sheet density is modulated by the drain-source bias, the electron mobility presents a peak with the variation of the 2DEG sheet density, the gate length is smaller, and the 2DEG sheet density corresponding to the peak point is higher.     

Photoluminescence of Nanoporous GaN Films Prepared by Electrochemical Etching

Nanoporous （NP） CaN is prepared by electrochemical etching on a CaN epilayer grown on a sapphire substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the average pore diameter and inter-pore spacing are approximately 25 and 45 nm, respectively. The photoluminescence （PL） spectra show that in contrast to the initial as-grown CaN epilayer, the NP CaN exhibits a high near-band-edge UV intensity, significant relaxation of compressive strain, and a lower yellow luminescence intensity. Both the line shape and line width of the PL spectra are almost the same for these two samples. The high quality of the NP CaN can be explained by the enhancement of the PL extraction efficiency and the decrease of impurity and defect density after etching.     

Influence of the channel electric field distribution on the polarization Coulomb field scattering in In0.18 Al0.82 N/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

By making use of the quasi-two-dimensional(quasi-2D) model, the current–voltage(I–V) characteristics of In0.18Al0.82N/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors(HFETs) with different gate lengths are simulated based on the measured capacitance–voltage(C–V) characteristics and I–V characteristics. By analyzing the variation of the electron mobility for the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG) with electric field, it is found that the different polarization charge distributions generated by the different channel electric field distributions can result in different polarization Coulomb field scatterings. The difference between the electron mobilities primarily caused by the polarization Coulomb field scatterings can reach up to 1522.9 cm2/V·s for the prepared In0.18Al0.82N/AlN/GaN HFETs. In addition, when the 2DEG sheet density is modulated by the drain–source bias, the electron mobility presents a peak with the variation of the 2DEG sheet density,the gate length is smaller, and the 2DEG sheet density corresponding to the peak point is higher.     

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.     

Influence of drain bias on the electron mobility in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

Using measured capacitance-voltage curves and current-voltage characteristics for the AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors with different gate lengths and drain-to-source distances,the influence of drain bias on the electron mobility is investigated.It is found that below the knee voltage the longitudinal optical(LO) phonon scattering and interface roughness scattering are dominant for the sample with a large ratio of gate length to drain-to-source distance(here 4/5),and the polarization Coulomb field scattering is dominant for the sample with a small ratio(here 1/5).However,the above polarization Coulomb field scattering is weakened in the sample with a small drain-to-source distance(here 20 μm) compared with the one with a large distance(here 100 μm).This is due to the induced strain in the AlGaN layer caused by the drain bias.     

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.     

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.     

Large-area 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes with high gain and low dark current for visible-blind ultraviolet detection

In this Letter, we report large-area(600 μm diameter) 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes(APDs) with high gain and low dark current for visible-blind ultraviolet detection. Based on the separate absorption and multiplication structure, 4H-SiC APDs passivated with SiN_xinstead of SiO_2 are demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Benefitting from the SiN_x passivation, the surface leakage current is effectively suppressed. At room temperature, high multiplication gain of 6.5 × 10~5 and low dark current density of 0.88 μA∕cm~2 at the gain of 1000 are achieved for our devices, which are comparable to the previously reported small-area Si C APDs.