Metal contacts to n-GaN

Al, Au, Ti/Al and Ti/Au contacts were prepared on n-GaN and annealed up to 900 °C. The structure, phase and morphology were studied by cross-sectional transmission and scanning electron microscopy as well as by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the electrical behaviour by current-voltage measurements. It was obtained that annealing resulted in interdiffusion, lateral diffusion along the surface, alloying and bowling up of the metal layers. The current-voltage characteristics of as-deposited Al and Ti/Al contacts were linear, while the Au and Ti/Au contacts exhibited rectifying behaviour. Except the Ti/Au contact which became linear, the contacts degraded during heat treatment at 900 °C. The surface of Au and Ti/Au contacts annealed at 900 °C have shown fractal-like structures revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and XRD investigations of the Ti/Au contact revealed that Au diffused into the n-GaN layer at 900 °C. X-ray diffraction examinations showed, that new Ti₂N, Au₂Ga and Ga₃Ti₂ interface phases formed in Ti/Au contact at 900 °C, new Ti₂N phase formed in Ti/Al contact at 700 and 900 °C, as well as new AlN interface phase developed in Ti/Al contact at 900 °C.     

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     

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.     

An electrical characterization of a hetero-junction nanowire (NW) PN diode (n-GaN NW/p-Si) formed by dielectrophoresis alignment

This is a report on the electrical characterization of gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire (NW) p–n junction diodes. These diodes were formed by assembling n-GaN NWs on p-Si (1 0 0) substrates using alternating current (AC) dielectrophoresis (DEP). The AC DEP was optimized with a bias voltage of 15 V_p−p at a frequency of 1 kHz. The hetero-junction single GaN nanowire p-n diode (n-GaN NW/p-Si) showed well-defined current rectifying behavior with a forward voltage drop of 1.2–2.0 V at a current density of 10–60 A/cm². The GaN nanowire p–n diodes had a high parasite resistance in the range of >470 kΩ. We observed that these high resistances were mostly the result of the metal contacts to the n-GaN NWs. We also found that these parasite resistances were reduced by the formation of an additional capping layer on the top of the n-GaN NW as well as high temperature annealing.     

Changes in optical and electrical properties and surface recombination velocity of n-type GaN due to (NH4)2Sx treatment

We have employed the photoluminescence (PL), surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) and Hall effect measurements to study the effects of (NH₄)₂S_x treatment on the optical and electrical properties of n-type GaN (n-GaN) in this study. (NH₄)₂S_x treatment of n-GaN led to the decrease of the surface recombination velocity and the increase of the band-edge emission intensity, due to the accumulation of majority carriers and the repulsion of minority carriers near the (NH₄)₂S_x-treated n-GaN surface, the removal of the native oxide existed on the n-GaN, and sulfur passivation.     

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.     

Properties of the Schottky Barriers on compensated PbTe〈Ga〉

C-V, I-V and photoelectric characteristics were investigated for some metals with different work functions, deposited onto compensated PbTe〈Ga〉 substrates with low carrier concentrations N, P ⩽ 10¹⁶cm⁻³. The surfaces of the PbTe〈Ga〉 substrates were prepared by anode-mechanical polishing, that results in enriching of the surface by Te. It was shown that the heights of the potential barriers Ø_B of the Schottky contacts prepared by oxidization in air anode-mechanically polished PbTe surfaces do not depend on the metal work function of Cu, Ag, Au and In. The highest values of resistance-area product were obtained for the Cu/p-PbTe〈Ga〉 contacts (R₀A≅ 1 × 10⁴Ωcm²) and were slightly lower than the R₀A value limited by the thermoemission current.     

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.     

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.     

Electrical behaviour of lateral Al/n-GaN/Al structures

The electrical behaviour of lateral Al/n-GaN/Al structures has been studied by current-voltage measurements between a large pad with an area of 22 mm² and small contacts with different areas in the range of 0.01-1 mm². The results indicated that near room temperature the current was limited by the GaN layer exhibiting linear I-V characteristics for large contacts around 1 mm², while it was contact limited for small contacts around 0.1 mm² and below. This indicates that the same metal contact can behave as ohmic or rectifying depending on the contact area and so on the ratio of contact resistance to the series resistance of the structure.Near liquid nitrogen temperature, the current through the lateral Al/n-GaN/Al structures was limited by space charges. The Al/n-GaN contacts exhibited a very low Schottky barrier height below or around 0.2 eV. A new possible mechanism responsible for the temperature dependence of the ideality factor is proposed.     

Leakage current and rectification behavior of Au / TiO2 / GaN junctions with TiO2 interlayer oxygen deposition pressure

Au/TiO₂/GaN junctions with a TiO₂ interlayer were deposited at various oxygen pressures from 5 mTorr to 80 mTorr, and their surface, microstructural, and electrical properties were investigated. Compared with a single 5 μm-Si-doped GaN film on an (0001) Al₂O₃ substrate, the 0.2 μm-Si-doped GaN film with an undoped GaN buffer layer demonstrated improved properties for the application to metal/semiconductor junctions. Atomic force microscope and tunneling electron microscope measurements suggested that the TiO₂ interlayer deposited at room temperature exhibited a distinctive change above the oxygen deposition pressure of 40 mTorr. In contrast to the small rectification ratio of 10¹-10² for Au/GaN junctions, the Au/TiO₂/GaN junctions with the TiO₂ interlayers displayed a large rectification ratio of 10⁶-10⁷ when the oxygen pressure during the deposition of TiO₂ interlayer was maintained at 40 mTorr. These results suggest that the leakage current and the rectification behavior in a metal/oxide/semiconductor junction can be effectively controlled using the oxygen deposition pressure for an oxide interlayer.     

Effect of oxygen vacancies on adhesion at the Nb/Al2O3 and Ni/ZrO2 interfaces

The atomic and electronic structures of the Nb/Al₂O₃(0001) and Ni/ZrO₂(001) interfaces are calculated using density-functional theory. The formation energy of oxygen vacancies is estimated in bulk materials and in surface layers and interfaces for different uppermost atomic layers of oxide surfaces. The work of separation of metal films from oxide surfaces is determined. The effect of oxygen vacancies on the bonding of transition metals to atoms of a substrate determining adhesion at the metal-oxide interfaces is discussed. It is shown that the Nb(Ni)-O interaction at the interfaces weakens in the presence of surface oxygen vacancies.     

High-Temperature Characteristics of Ti/Al/Ni/Au Ohmic Contacts to n-GaN

We present the high-temperature characteristics of Ti/Al/Ni/Au（15 nm/220 nm/40 nm/50 nm） multiplayer contacts to n-type GaN （Nd = 3.7 × 10^17 cm^-3, Nd = 3.0 × 10^18 cm^-3）. The contact resistivity increases with the measurement temperature. Furthermore, the increasing tendency is related to doping concentration. The higher the doped, the slower the contact resistivity with decreasing measurement temperature. Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contact to heavy doping n-GaN takes on better high temperature reliability. According to the analyses of XRD and AES for the n-GaN/Ti/Al/Ni/Au, the Au atoms permeate through the Ni layer which is not thick enough into the AI layer even the Ti layer.     

Effect of thermal annealing on GaN pn-junction diode with Pt/Ag as ohmic contact

In this paper, the effect of thermal annealing on gallium nitride (GaN) pn-junction photodiode grown on Si(1?1?1) by RF-plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy is described. Platinum (Pt) and silver (Ag) were used as ohmic contact for GaN pn-junction photodetector. The structural evolution and temperature dependence of the current of Pt/Ag contacts on GaN pn-junction at various annealing were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, high resolution X-ray diffraction, and current–voltage (I–V) measurements, respectively. The temperature dependence of the current may be attributed to changes of the surface morphology and surface roughness of Pt/Ag contacts on the sample. The lower surface roughness was achieved at thermal annealing temperature of 700?°C.     

Improved device performance in nonpolar a ‐plane GaN LEDs using a Ni/Al/Ni/Au n‐type ohmic contact

The authors report upon the increased light‐output power (P_out) via a reduction in the forward voltage (V_f) for nonpolar a ‐plane GaN LEDs using Ni/Al/Ni/Au n‐type ohmic contacts. The specific contact resistivity of the Ni/Al/Ni/Au contact is found to be as low as 5.6 × 10^–5 whereas that of a typical Ti/Al/Ni/Au contact is 6.8 × 10^–4 Ω cm², after annealing at 700 °C. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that the upward surface band bending is less pronounced for the Ni/Al contact compared to the Ti/Al contact, leading to a decrease in the effective Schottky barrier height (SBH). The V_f of the nonpolar LEDs decreases by 10% and P_out increases by 15% when the Ni/Al/Ni/Au scheme is used instead of the typical Ti/Al/Ni/Au metal scheme. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Advanced Processing of GaN for Electronic Devices

This review focuses on understanding and optimization of several key aspects of GaN device processing. A novel rapid thermal processing up to 1500°C, in conjunction with AlN encapsulation, has been developed. The activation processes of implanted Si or Group VI donors, and common acceptors in GaN by using this ultrahigh-temperature annealing, along with its effects on surface degradation, dopant redistribution, and damage removal have been examined. 1400 degrees has proven to be the optimum temperature to achieve high activation efficiency and to repair the ion-induced lattice defects. Ion implantation was also employed to create high-resistivity GaN. Damage-related isolation with sheet resistances of 10¹² Ω/square in n-GaN and 10¹⁰ Ω/square in p-GaN has been achieved by implant of O and transition metal elements. The effects of surface cleanliness on characteristics of GaN Schottky contacts have been investigated, and the reduction in barrier height was correlated with removing the native oxide that forms an insulating layer on the conventionally cleaned surface. W alloys have been deposited on Si-implanted samples and Mg-doped epilayers to achieve ohmic contacts with low resistance and better thermal stability than the existing non refractory contact schemes. Dry etching damage in GaN has been studied systematically using Schottky diode measurements. Wet chemical etching and thermal annealing processes have been developed to restore the ion-degraded material properties. Based on these technical improvements, attempts have been made to demonstrate GaN-based bipolar transistors. The devices operated in common base mode at current densities up to 3.6?kAcm^?2and temperatures up to 300°C. The key issues that currently limit the device performance, such as high base resistance, poor impurity control, and defects resulting from the heteroepitaxial growth, have been addressed. A physically based simulation suggested that GaN bipolar devices may still suffer from small minority-carrier lifetime in the absence of aforementioned processing problems.     

Influence of surface processing in a BCl<Subscript>3</Subscript> plasma on the formation of ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN structures

Conditions for the surface processing of a cap GaN layer in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structures in a BCl₃ plasma have been found. They make it possible to considerably reduce the resistance of ohmic contacts to Group III nitride-based field-effect transistors. The primary factor behind this effect is the noticeable lowering of a potential barrier on the GaN surface through the formation of nitrogen vacancies that act as donors and, correspondingly, a rise in the surface concentration of electrons.     

SiC衬底上异质外延GaN薄膜XPS谱和PL谱研究

利用X射线光电子能谱,对在SiC衬底上采用MOCVD异质外延的未故意掺杂的GaN进行N、Ga组份测试,同时用光致发光技术对样品进行发光特性的研究.结果表明,随着GaN薄膜中Ga百分含量逐渐减小,室温下黄光输出峰值强度却逐渐增加.因此,在Ga含量相对低的GaN薄膜中容易形成Ga空位(即Ga空位浓度较高),而此时,黄光辐射强度单调递增证明,黄光辐射与VGa密切相关.     

Ga空位对GaN:Gd体系磁性影响的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理结合投影缀加平面波的方法,研究了GaN中Ga被稀土元素Gd替代以及与邻近N或Ga空位组成的缺陷复合体的晶格常数、磁矩、形成能以及电子结构等性质.结果发现,Gd掺杂GaN后禁带宽度变窄,由直接带隙半导体转为间接带隙半导体;单个Gd原子掺杂给体系引入大约7μB的磁矩;在Gd与Ga或N空位形成的缺陷复合体系中,N空位对引入磁矩贡献很小,大约0.1μB,Ga空位能引入约2μB的磁矩.随着Ga空位的增多,体系总磁矩增加,但增加量与Ga空位的位置分布密切相关.当Ga空位分布较为稀疏时,Gd单原子磁矩受影响较小,但当Ga空位距离较近且倾向于形成团簇时,Gd单原子磁矩明显增加,而且这种情况下空位形成能也最小.     

Sulphide passivation of GaN based Schottky diodes

Wet chemical passivation of n-GaN surface was carried out by dipping GaN samples in ammonium sulphide diluted in aqueous and alcoholic solvent base solutions. Photoluminescence (PL) investigations indicated that sulphide solution effectively led to the reduction of GaN surface states. Increased band edge PL peak showed that S²⁻ ions are more active in alcohol based solvents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed reduction in surface oxides by introduction of sulphide species. Ni/n-GaN Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on passivated surfaces. Remarkable improvement in the Schottky barrier height (0.98 eV for passivated diodes as compared to 0.75 eV for untreated diodes) has been observed.