Ohmic Contacts for Compound Semiconductors

Although there has been strong demand for low -resistance, highly reliable Ohmic contacts for compound semiconductors to realize high-frequency transistors, high-power devices, and light-emitting (LED) and laser diodes (LD), development of the Ohmic contact technologies has been made on a trial-and-error basis. The primary reason is lack of fundamental data to design ideal metal/semiconductor interfaces due to complexity of elements involved at the interfacial reaction. In this article, we review recent systematic studies carried out for Ohmic contact materials to n-GaAs and then address critical issues to apply the methodology established in n-GaAs to develop low-resistance Ohmic contacts for p-ZnSe and p-GaN, which are desperate for blue-green LED and LD.     

背照射和正照射p-i-n结构GaN紫外探测器的i-GaN和p-GaN厚度设计

研究了i-GaN和p-GaN厚度对背照射和正照射p-i-n结构GaN紫外探测器响应光谱的影响。模拟计算发现:对于背照射结构, 适当地减小i-GaN厚度有利于提高探测器的响应, 降低i-GaN层的本底载流子浓度也有利于提高探测器的响应;p-GaN的欧姆接触特性好坏对探测器的响应影响不大, 适当地增加p-GaN厚度可以改善探测器性能。而正照射结构则不同, i-GaN厚度对探测器的响应度影响不大, 但欧姆接触特性差将严重降低探测器的响应, 适当地减小p-GaN厚度可以大幅度改善探测器的响应特性。能带结构和入射光吸收的差别导致了正照射和背照射探测器结构中i层和p层厚度的选择和设计不同。     

ZrB2-based Ohmic contacts to p-GaN

The annealing temperature dependence of contact resistance and layer stability of ZrB₂/Ti/Au and Ni/Au/ZrB₂/Ti/Au Ohmic contacts on p-GaN is reported. The as-deposited contacts are rectifying and transition to Ohmic behavior for annealing at ≥750 °C, a significant improvement in thermal stability compared to the conventional Ni/Au Ohmic contact on p-GaN, which is stable only to <600 °C. A minimum specific contact resistance of ∼2 × 10⁻³ Ω cm⁻² was obtained for the ZrB₂/Ti/Au after annealing at 800 °C while for Ni/Au/ZrB₂/Ti/Au the minimum value was 10⁻⁴ Ω cm⁻² at 900 °C. Auger Electron Spectroscopy profiling showed significant Ti, Ni and Zr out diffusion at 750 °C in the Ni/Au/ZrB₂/Ti/Au while the Ti and Zr intermix at 900 °C in the ZrB₂/Ti/Au. These boride-based contacts show promise for contacts to p-GaN in high temperature applications.     

Effect of surface treatment of GaN based light emitting diode wafers on the leakage current of light emitting diode devices

To form low-resistance Ohmic contact to p-type GaN, InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diode wafers are treated with boiled aqua regia prior to Ni/Au (5~nm/5~nm) film deposition. The surface morphology of wafers and the current--voltage characteristics of fabricated light emitting diode devices are investigated. It is shown that surface treatment with boiled aqua regia could effectively remove oxide from the surface of the p-GaN layer, and reveal defect-pits whose density is almost the same as the screw dislocation density estimated by x-ray rocking curve measurement. It suggests that the metal atoms of the Ni/Au transparent electrode of light emitting diode devices may diffuse into the p-GaN layer along threading dislocation lines and form additional leakage current channels. Therefore, the surface treatment time with boiled aqua regia should not be too long so as to avoid the increase of threading dislocation-induced leakage current and the degradation of electrical properties of light emitting diodes.     

AgO_x界面插入层对GZO电极LED器件性能的影响

采用磁控溅射的方法在p-GaN上制备了GZO透明导电薄膜,通过在p-GaN和GZO界面之间插入AgOx薄层来改善LED器件的接触性能。研究结果表明:氮气退火后,采用界面插入层的AgOx/GZO薄膜电阻率为5.8×10-4Ω.cm,在可见光的透过率超过80%。AgOx界面插入层有效地降低了GZO与p-GaN之间的接触势垒,表现出良好的欧姆接触特性,同时使LED器件的光电性能获得了显著的提高。在50 mA的注入电流下,相比于常规的GZO电极LED器件,AgOx/GZO电极LED器件的正向电压由9.68 V降至6.92 V,而发光强度提高了13.5%。     

Ir-based diffusion barriers for Ohmic contacts to p-GaN

Ir-based electrical contacts to p-type GaN have been fabricated and characterized. Both GaN//Ni/Au/Ir/Au and GaN//Ni/Ir/Au contact structures were deposited, however, only the former produced Ohmic current-voltage characteristics. At an anneal temperature of 500 °C, the Ni/Au/Ir/Au contact had a specific contact resistance of ∼2 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm², comparable or superior to conventional Ni/Au contacts that are less thermally stable. Anneal temperatures above 500 °C caused the Ir-based contact to fail. Auger electron spectroscopy was used to obtain depth profiles of both types of contacts at a variety of temperatures in order to provide insight into the mechanism of Ohmic formation as well as potential reasons for failure. A comparison to other metallization schemes on p-GaN is also given.     

退火温度和退火气氛对Ni/Au与p-GaN之间欧姆接触性能的影响

研究了不同退火温度和气氛对Ni/Au与p-GaN之间欧姆接触性能的影响. 采用圆形传输线模型方法得到不同退火温度和不同退火气氛下的比接触电阻率. 结果表明, 较适宜的退火温度为500 ℃左右, 退火温度太高或太低都会导致比接触电阻率的增大; 较适宜的退火气氛为适量含氧的氮气气氛, 且氧气含量对比接触电阻率大小的影响并不显著. 经过对退火条件的优化, 得到的比接触电阻率可达7.65×10^-4 Ω·cm². 关键词： p-GaN 欧姆接触 圆形传输线模型 快速热退火     

Auger electron spectroscopy of Au/NiOx contacts on p-GaN annealed in N2 and O2 + N2 ambients

We have designed a promising contact scheme to p-GaN. Au/NiO_x layers with a low concentration of O in NiO_x are deposited on p-GaN by reactive dc magnetron sputtering and annealed in N₂ and in a mixture of O₂ + N₂ to produce low resistivity ohmic contacts. Annealing has been studied of NiO_x layers with various contents of oxygen upon the electrical properties of Au/NiO_x/p-GaN. It has been found that the Au/NiO_x/p-GaN structure with a low content of oxygen in NiO_x layer provides a low resistivity ohmic contact even after subsequent annealing in N₂ or O₂ + N₂ ambient at 500 °C for 2 min.Auger depth profiles and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs reveal that while annealing in O₂ + N₂ ambient results in reconstruction of the initial deposited Au/NiO_x/p-GaN contact structure into a Au/p-NiO/p-GaN structure, annealing in N₂ brings about reconstruction into Au/p-NiO/p-GaN and Ni/p-NiO/p-GaN structures. Hence, in both cases, after annealing in N₂ as well as in O₂ + N₂ ambient, the ohmic properties of the contacts are determined by creation of a thin oxide layer (p-NiO) on the metal/p-GaN interface. Higher contact resistivities in the samples annealed in O₂ + N₂ ambient are most likely caused by a smaller effective area of the contact due to creation of voids.     

p-GaN层厚度对GaN基p-i-n结构紫外探测器性能的影响

研究了p-GaN层厚度对GaN基pin结构紫外探测器性能的影响.模拟计算表明：较厚的p-GaN层会减小器件的量子效率,然而同时也会减小器件的暗电流,较薄的p-GaN层会增加器件的量子效率,但是同时也增加了器件的暗电流.进一步的分析表明,金属和p-GaN之间的结电场是出现这种现象的根本原因.在实际的器件设计中,应该根据实际需要选择p型层的厚度. 关键词： GaN 紫外探测器 量子效率 暗电流     

GaN基紫光LED的高反射率p型欧姆接触

研究用于GaN基大功率倒装焊(Flip-chip)紫光LED(UV-LED)的高反射率p型欧姆接触的电学和光学性能。用磁控溅射的方法在GaN基LED外延片表面沉积了不同厚度Ag,Al,Au和Pd四种金属,测量了样品的反射率和透射率。结合同步辐射高强度X射线衍射和AFM对金属薄膜的晶体结构进行分析,并对表面形貌进行了观测,对由金属薄膜构成的多层膜结构及其对光反射率的作用机理进行了研究。测量结果表明,在入射光波长为400nm时,Ni/Au/Ag和Ni/Au/Al电极的反射率比Ni/Au的反射率提高了三倍。同时与p-GaN有良好的欧姆接触特性。     

Improvement of GaN light-emitting diodes with surface-treated Al-doped ZnO transparent Ohmic contacts by holographic photonic crystal

This letter presents a holographic photonic crystal (H-PhC) Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent Ohmic contact layer on p-GaN to increase the light output of GaN-based LEDs without destroying the p-GaN. The operating voltage of the PhC LEDs at 20 mA was almost the same as that of the typical planar AZO LEDs. While the resultant PhC LED devices exhibited significant improvements in light extraction, up to 1.22 times that of planar AZO LEDs without PhC integration. Temperature dependence of the integrated photoluminescence intensity indicates that this improvement can be attributed to the increased extraction efficiency due to the surface modification. These results demonstrate that the surface-treated AZO layer by H-PhCs is suitable for fabricating high-brightness GaN-based LEDs.     

Structural characterization of V/Al/V/Au Ohmic contacts to n-type Al0.4Ga0.6N

This paper investigates the temperature dependence of the specific resistance in annealed V/Al/V/Au (15 nm/85 nm/20 nm/95 nm) contacts on n-Al0.4Ga0.6 N. Contacts annealed at 700C and higher temperatures show Ohmic behaviour. Annealing at 800 C produces the lowest contact resistance. Samples annealed at 800C have been analysed by using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and an energy dispersive x-ray spectrum. Limited reaction depths are observed between V-based contacts and n-AlGaN. The VN grains are found to form in the contact layer of the annealed samples,which can be considered as the key to the successful formation of Ohmic contact. The contact layer adjacent to AlGaN material consists of V-Al-Au-N,AlN and AlAu alloys.     

Effects of hydrogen treatment on ohmic contacts to p-type GaN films

This study investigated the effects of hydrogen (H₂) treatment on metal contacts to Mg-doped p-GaN films by Hall-effect measurement, current-voltage (I-V) analyzer and X-ray photoemission spectra (XPS). The interfacial oxide layer on the p-GaN surface was found to be the main reason for causing the nonlinear I-V behavior of the untreated p-GaN films. The increased nitrogen vacancy (V_N) density due to increased GaN decomposition rate at high-temperature hydrogen treatment is believed to form high density surface states on the surface of p-GaN films. Compared to untreated p-GaN films, the surface Fermi level determined by the Ga 2p core-level peak on 1000 °C H₂-treated p-GaN films lies about ∼2.1 eV closer to the conduction band edge (i.e., the surface inverted to n-type behavior). The reduction in barrier height due to the high surface state density pinned the surface Fermi level close to the conduction band edge, and allowed the electrons to easily flow over the barrier from the metal into the p-GaN films. Thus, a good ohmic contact was achieved on the p-GaN films by the surface inversion method.     

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.     

High reflective p-GaN/Ni/Ag/Ti/Au Ohmic contacts for flip-chip light-emitting diode (FCLED) applications

The fabrication of high reflective Ni/Ag/(Ti, Mo)/Au Ohmic contacts for flip-chip light-emitting diode (FCLED) are proposed and considered, Ni/Ag/Au Ohmic contacts are also fabricated to compare their resulting reflectivities. From secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles, it indicates that the Au in-diffusion occurs in Ni/Ag/Au contacts after annealing. It is considered that Au in-diffusion, which is intermixed with Ag, Ni and GaN in Ni/Ag/Au contacts after annealing, is responsible for the resulting low reflectance (63% at the wavelength of 465 nm). To avoid Au in-diffusion and enhance the reflectivity, a diffusion barrier metal (Ti or Mo) between Ni/Ag and Au is fabricated and examined. It is demonstrated and found that an insertion of diffusion barrier metal of Ti enables to block Au diffusion effectively and also improve the reflectivity significantly, up to 93%.     

Ni/Au与N掺杂p型ZnO的欧姆接触

研究了Au,In,Ni/Au三种不同金属膜与N掺杂p型ZnO的接触特性,发现Ni/Au双层膜更适合作为其欧姆电极材料,并比较了不同气氛和不同温度退火对Ni/Au电极的影响.发现在O₂中退火电极性能发生蜕变,而在N₂中退火性能得到改善.指出即使在N₂中退火,退火温度的选择也是至关重要的,本实验在400℃,氮气气氛下退火150s,得到了较好的欧姆接触特性.     

高反射率p-GaN欧姆接触电极

根据光学薄膜原理计算了GaN/Ti/Ag、GaN/Al和GaN/Ni/Au/Ti/Ag、GaN/Ni/Au/Al多层电极结构的反射率,得出Ag基和Al基反射电极均能在全角范围内提供较高的反射率。实验测量结果表明,反射率能高于80%的Ag基反射电极,具有低欧姆接触的电学特性。并将GaN/Ni/Au/Ti/Ag多层反射电极应用在上下电极结构的GaN基LED中。实验上采用两步合金法获得了低接触电阻、高反射率的电极结构,并引入Ni/Au覆盖层克服了Ag高温时的团聚和氧化现象。解决了Ag电极的稳定性问题,显著地提高了LED的出光效率,成功制备了具有上下电极结构的GaN基LED管芯。     

Creating room temperature Ohmic contacts to 4H-SiC: studied by specific contact resistance measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The use of a silicon interface pre-treatment to produce low resistance Ohmic nickel contacts to 4H-SiC, circumventing the need for contact post annealing, is reported. The effects of two different SiC pre-metal deposition surface preparation techniques: RCA cleaning (control sample) and a silicon interlayer pre-treatment (SIP), are discussed. Electrical characterization of contacts on treated surfaces, using circular transfer length measurements (CTLM), revealed that contacts to RCA cleaned samples were Schottky in nature, unless annealed at temperatures greater than 700 °C. In contrast, contacts formed on SIP SiC surfaces exhibited Ohmic behaviour directly after fabrication, without the need for post metallisation annealing. Average contact resistances as low as 1.3E−05 Ω cm² have been recorded for SIP samples. This fabrication process has distinct technological advantages compared to standard techniques for forming Ohmic contacts to SiC. To consolidate our findings the chemical and electrical nature of the SIP nickel-SiC interface, as it was sequentially formed and annealed, was examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Based on these results, a model is proposed to explain the as-deposited Ohmic contact nature of the SIP sample.     

石墨烯过渡层对金属/SiC接触肖特基势垒调控的第一性原理研究

由于SiC禁带宽度大,在金属/SiC接触界面难以形成较低的势垒,制备良好的欧姆接触是目前SiC器件研制中的关键技术难题,因此,研究如何降低金属/SiC接触界面的肖特基势垒高度(SBH)非常重要.本文基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理赝势平面波方法,结合平均静电势和局域态密度计算方法,研究了石墨烯作为过渡层对不同金属(Ag,Ti,Cu,Pd,Ni,Pt)/SiC接触的SBH的影响.计算结果表明,单层石墨烯可使金属/SiC接触的SBH降低;当石墨烯为2层时,SBH进一步降低且Ni,Ti接触体系的SBH呈现负值,说明接触界面形成了良好的欧姆接触;当石墨烯层数继续增加,SBH不再有明显变化.通过分析接触界面的差分电荷密度以及局域态密度,SBH降低的机理可能主要是石墨烯C原子饱和了SiC表面的悬挂键并降低了金属诱生能隙态对界面的影响,并且接触界面的石墨烯及其与金属相互作用形成的混合相具有较低的功函数.此外,SiC/石墨烯界面形成的电偶极层也可能有助于势垒降低.     

Proposal of a new physical model for Ohmic contacts

Ohmic contacts are crucial for both device applications and the study of fundamental physics. In this study, we propose a new physical model for Ohmic contacts based on the detailed considerations of a metal/semiconductor interface, such as charge neutrality level concept, with which it is possible to describe the real situation precisely. Our proposed model contains many defect energy levels that originate from vacancies and impurities located in the vicinity of the metal/semiconductor interface, within the energy range of the Schottky barrier height. Moreover, we calculate the current–voltage characteristics based on our model. Our calculated results show that our model reveals linear Ohmic I–V characteristics and dense defect energy level distribution in the energy range of the Schottky barrier height is crucial for obtaining Ohmic I–V characteristics.