Effects of SiNx on two-dimensional electron gas and current collapse of A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

SiNx is commonly used as a passivation material for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). In this paper, the effects of SiN x passivation film on both two-dimensional electron gas characteristics and current collapse of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are investigated. The SiNx films are deposited by high- and low-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition, and they display different strains on the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, which can explain the experiment results.     

Effect of Si doping in wells of A1GaN/GaN superlattice on the characteristics of epitaxial layer

An A1GaN/GaN superlattice grown on the top of a GaN buffer induces the broadening of the full width at half maximum of （102） and （002） X-ray diffraction rocking curves. With an increase in the Si-doped concentration in the GaN wells, the full width at half maximum of the （102） rocking curves decreases, while that of the （002） rocking curves increases. A significant increase of the full width at the half maximum of the （002） rocking curves when the doping concentration reaches 2.5 × 10^19 cm-3 indicates the substantial increase of the inclined threading dislocation. High level doping in the A1GaN/GaN superlattice can greatly reduce the biaxial stress and optimize the surface roughness of the structures grown on the top of it.     

Low-resistance Ohmic contact on polarization-doped AIGaN/GaN heterojunction

High electronic density is achieved by polarization doping without an impurity dopant in graded AIGaN films. Low specific contact resistance is studied on the polarization-doped A1GaN/GaN heterojunctions by using the transmission line method （TLM）. The sheet density of polarization-doped A1GaN/GaN heterojunction is 6 × 10 14 cm-2 at room temperature. The linearly graded material structure is demonstrated by X-ray diffraction. The cartier concentration and mobility are characterized by a temperature-dependent Hall measurement. Multiple-layer metal （Ti/A1/Ti/Au） is deposited and annealed at 650 ℃ to realize the Ohmic contacts on the graded A1GaN/GaN heterojunctions.     

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.     

An improved EEHEMT model for kink effect on AIGaN/GaN HEMT

In this paper, a new current expression based on both the direct currect （DC） characteristics of the A1GaN/GaN high election mobility transistor （HEMT） and the hyperbolic tangent function tanh is proposed, by which we can describe the kink effect of the A1GaN/GaN HEMT well. Then, an improved EEHEMT model including the proposed current expression is presented. The simulated and measured results of Ⅰ-Ⅴ, S-parameter, and radio frequency （RF） large-signal characteristics are compared for a self-developed on-wafer A1GaN/GaN HEMT with ten gate fingers each being 0.4-μm long and 125-p-m wide （Such an A1GaN/GaN HEMT is denoted as A1GaN/GaN HEMT （10 × 125 μm））. The improved large signal model simulates the Ⅰ-Ⅴ characteristic much more accurately than the original one, and its transconductance and RF characteristics are also in excellent agreement with the measured data.     

The degradation mechanism of an AIGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor under step-stress

Step-stress experiments are performed in this paper to investigate the degradation mechanism of an AIGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor （HEMT）. It is found that the stress current shows a recoverable decrease during each voltage step and there is a critical voltage beyond which the stress current starts to increase sharply in our experiments. We postulate that defects may be randomly induced within the A1GaN barrier by the high electric field during each voltage step. But once the critical voltage is reached, the trap concentration will increase sharply due to the inverse piezoelectric effect. A leakage path may be introduced by excessive defect, and this may result in the permanent degradation of the A1GaN/GaN HEMT.     

High-efficiency S-band harmonic tuning GaN amplifier

In this paper, we present a high-efficiency S-band gallium nitride （GaN） power amplifier （PA）. This amplifier is fabri- cated based on a self-developed GaN high-electron-mobility transistor （HEMT） with 10 mm gate width on SiC substrate. Harmonic manipulation circuits are presented in the amplifier. The matching networks consist of microstrip lines and discrete components. Open-circuited stub lines in both input and output are used to tune the 2rid harmonic wave and match the GaN HEMT to the highest efficiency condition. The developed amplifier delivers an output power of 48.5 dBm （70 W） with a power-added efficiency （PAE） of 72.2% at 2 GHz in pulse condition. When operating at 1.8-2.2 GHz （20% relative bandwidth）, the amplifier provides an output power higher than 48 dBm （,-~ 65 W）, with a PAE over 70% and a power gain above 15 dB. When operating in continuous-wave （CW） operating conditions, the amplifier gives an output power over 46 dBm （40 W） with PAE beyond 60% over the whole operation frequency range.     

Low-leakage-current AIGaN/GaN HEMTs on Si substrates with partially Mg-doped GaN buffer layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

High-performance low-leakage-current A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors （HEMTs） on silicon （111） sub- strates grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD） with a novel partially Magnesium （Mg）-doped GaN buffer scheme have been fabricated successfully. The growth and DC results were compared between Mg-doped GaN buffer layer and a unintentionally onμe. A 1μ m gate-length transistor with Mg-doped buffer layer exhibited an OFF-state drain leakage current of 8.3 × 10-8 A/mm, to our best knowledge, which is the lowest value reported for MOCVD-grown A1GaN/GaN HEMTs on Si featuring the same dimension and structure. The RF characteristics of 0.25-μ m gate length T-shaped gate HEMTs were also investigated.     

Different temperature dependence of carrier transport properties between AlxGal-xN/InyGal-yN/GaN and Alx Gal-xN/GaN heterostruct ures

The temperature dependence of carrier transport properties of Alx Gal-xN/InyGal-yN/CaN and AlzGal-xN/GaN heterostructures has been investigated. It is shown that the Hall mobility in Alo.25Gao.75N/Ino.03Gao.97N/GaN heterostructures is higher than that in Alo.25Gao.75N/GaN heterostructures at temperatures above 500 K, even the mobility in the former is much lower than that in the latter at 300 K. More importantly, the electron sheet density in Alo.25Gao.75N/Ino.03Gao.97N/GaN heterostructures decreases slightly, whereas the electron sheet density in Al0.25Gao.75N/CaN heterostructures gradually increases with increasing temperature above 500 K. It is believed that an electron depletion layer is formed due to the negative polarization charges at the Iny Can-yN/GaN heterointerface induced by the compressive strain in the InyCal-yN channel, which effectively suppresses the parallel conductivity originating from the thermal excitation in the underlying GaN layer at high temperatures.     

Effects of interface roughness on photoluminescence full width at half maximum in GaN/AIGaN quantum wells

Low temperature photoluminescence （PL） measurements have been performed for a set of GaN/AlxGal xN quantum wells （QWs）. The experimental results show that the optical full width at half maximum （FWHM） increases relatively rapidly with increasing A1 composition in the AlxGal xN barrier, and increases only slightly with increasing GaN well width. A model considering the interface roughness is used to interpret the experimental results. In the model, the FWHM＇s broadening caused by the interface roughness is calculated based on the triangle potential well approximation. We find that the calculated results accord with the experimental results well.     

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.     

Performance enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode with an AIGaN/InGaN superlattice electron-blocking layer

The efficiency enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode （LED） with an A1GaN/InGaN superlattice （SL） electron-blocking layer （EBL） is studied numerically, which involves the light-current performance curve, internal quan- tum efficiency electrostatic field band wavefunction, energy band diagram carrier concentration, electron current density, and radiative recombination rate. The simulation results indicate that the LED with an A1GaN/InGaN SL EBL has better optical performance than the LED with a conventional rectangular A1GaN EBL or a normal A1GaN/GaN SL EBL because of the appropriately modified energy band diagram, which is favorable ibr the injection of holes and confinement of elec- trons. Additionally, the efficiency droop of the LED with an AIGaN/InGaN SL EBL is markedly improved by reducing the polarization field in the active region.     

The etching of a-plane GaN epilayers grown metal-organic chemical vapour deposition

Morphology of nonpolar （1120） a-plane GaN epilayers on r-plane （1102） sapphire substrate grown by low-pressure metal-organic vapour deposition was investigated after KOH solution etching. Many micron- and nano-meter columns on the a-plane GaN surface were observed by scanning electron microscopy. An etching mechanism model is proposed to interpret the origin of the peculiar etching morphology. The basal stacking fault in the a-plane GaN plays a very important role in the etching process.     

Effect of high temperature band gap of GaN annealing on strain and nanoparticles

<正>Black-coloured GaN nanoparticles with an average grain size of 50 nm have been obtained by annealing GaN nanoparticles under flowing nitrogen at 1200℃for 30 min.XRD measurement result indicates an increase in the lattice parameter of the GaN nanoparticles annealed at 1200℃,and HRTEM image shows that the increase cannot be ascribed to other ions in the interstitial positions.If the as-synthesised GaN nanoparticles at 950℃are regarded as standard,the thermal expansion changes nonlinearly with temperature and is anisotropic;the expansion below 1000℃is smaller than that above 1000℃.This study provides an experimental demonstration for selecting the proper annealing temperature of GaN.In addition,a large blueshift in optical bandgap of the annealed GaN nanoparticles at 1200℃is observed,which can be ascribed to the dominant transitions from the C（Γ₇） with the peak energy at 3.532 eV.     

Improvement in a-plane GaN crystalline quality using wet etching method

Nonpolar （1120） GaN films are grown on the etched a-plane GaN substrates via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. High-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis shows great decreases in the full width at half maximum of the samples grown on etched substrates compared with those of the sample without etching, both on-axis and off-axis, indicating the reduced dislocation densities and improved crystalline quality of these samples. The spatial mapping of the E2 （high） phonon mode demonstrates the smaller line width with a black background in the wing region, which testifies the reduced dislocation densities and enhanced crystalline quality of the epitaxial lateral overgrowth areas. Raman scattering spectra of the E2 （high） peaks exhibit in-plane compressive stress for all the overgrowth samples, and the E2 （high） peaks of samples grown on etched substrates shift toward the lower frequency range, indicating the relaxations of in-plane stress in these GaN films. Furthermore, room temperature photoluminescence measurement demonstrates a significant decrease in the yellow-band emission intensity of a-plane GaN grown on etched templates, which also illustrates the better optical properties of these samples.     

Effects of V/III ratio on a-plane GaN epilayers with an InGaN interlayer

The effects of V/Ill growth flux ratio on a-plane GaN films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates with an InGaN interlayer are investigated. The surface morphology, crystalline quality, strain states, and density of basal stacking faults were found to depend heavily upon the V/III ratio. With decreasing V/III ratio, the surface morphology and crystal quality first improved and then deteriorated, and the density of the basal-plane stacking faults also first decreased and then increased. The optimal V/III ratio growth condition for the best surface morphology and crystalline quality and the smallest basal-plane stacking fault density of a-GaN films are found. We also found that the formation of basal-plane stacking faults is an effective way to release strain.     

Performance improvement of GaN-based light-emitting diode with a p-InAIGaN hole injection layer

The characteristics of a blue light-emitting diode （LED） with a p-InA1GaN hole injection layer （HIL） is analyzed numerically. The simulation results indicate that the newly designed structure presents superior optical and electrical performance such as an increase in light output power, a reduction in current leakage and alleviation of efficiency droop. These improvements can be attributed to the p-InA1GaN serving as hole injection layers, which can alleviate the band bending induced by the polarization field, thereby improving both the hole injection efficiency and the electron blocking efficiency.     

Breakdown characteristics of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on a silicon substrate

In this work, the breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） fabricated on the silicon substrate are investigated. The breakdown voltage （BV） of the SBDs first increases as a function of the anodeto-cathode distance and then tends to saturate at larger inter-electrode spacing. The saturation behavior of the BV is likely caused by the vertical breakdown through the intrinsic GaN buffer layer on silicon, which is supported by the post-breakdown primary leakage path analysis with the emission microscopy. Surface passivation and field plate termination are found effective to suppress the leakage current and enhance the BV of the SBDs. A high BV of 601 V is obtained with a low on-resistance of 3.15 mΩ·cm^2.     

Performance improvement of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with a specially designed n-AIGaN hole blocking layer

Blue InGaN light-emitting diodes （LEDs） with a conventional electron blocking layer （EBL）, a common n-A1GaN hole blocking layer （HBL）, and an n-A1GaN HBL with gradual A1 composition are investigated numerically, which involves analyses of the carrier concentration in the active region, energy band diagram, electrostatic field, and internal quantum efficiency （IQE）. The results indicate that LEDs with an n-AIGaN HBL with gradual AI composition exhibit better hole injection efficiency, lower electron leakage, and a smaller electrostatic field in the active region than LEDs with a conven tional p-A1GaN EBL or a common n-A1GaN HBL. Meanwhile, the efficiency droop is alleviated when an n-A1GaN HBL with gradual A1 composition is used.     

Electric field modulation technique for high-voltage AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

A novel structure of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode （SBD） featuring electric field optimization techniques of anode-connected-field-plate （AFP） and magnesium-doped p-type buried layer under the two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） channel is proposed. In comparison with conventional A1GaN/GaN SBDs, the magnesium-doped p-type buried layer in the proposed structure can provide holes that can help to deplete the surface 2DEG. As a result, surface field strength around the electrode edges is significantly suppressed and the electric field along the channel is distributed more evenly. Through 2D numerical analysis, the AFP parameters （field plate length, LAFP, and field plate height, TAFP） and p-type buried layer parameters （p-type layer concentration, Np, and p-type layer thickness, Tp） are optimized to achieve a three-equal-peak surface channel field distribution under exact charge balance conditions. A novel structure with a total drift region length of 10.5 μm and a magnesium-doped p-type concentration of 1 × 10^17 cm 3 achieves a high breakdown voltage （VB） of 1.8 kV, showing 5 times improvement compared with the conventional SBD with the same device dimension.