Sulfur doping of AlN and AlGaN for improved n‐type conductivity

Achieving high levels of n‐type conductivity in AlN and high Al‐content nitride alloys is a long standing problem; significant decreases in conductivity are observed as the Al content is increased, a phenomenon that has been attributed to donors such as oxygen or silicon forming DX centers. We address this problem through a comprehensive first‐principles hybrid density functional study of potential n‐type dopants, identifying S_N and Se_N as two elements which are potential shallow donors because they do not undergo a DX transition. In particular, S_N is highly promising as an n‐type dopant because it also has a low formation energy and hence a high solubility. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Spontaneous Ga incorporation in ZnO nanowires epitaxially grown on GaN substrate

Surface‐diffusion‐induced spontaneous Ga incorporation process is demonstrated in ZnO nanowires grown on GaN substrate. Crucially, contrasting distributions of Ga atoms in axial and radial directions are experimentally observed. Ga atoms uniformly distribute along the ～10 μm long ZnO nanowire and show a rapidly gradient distribution in the radial direction, which is attributed substantially to the difference between surface and volume diffusion. The understanding on the incorporation process can potentially modulate doping and properties in semiconductor nanomaterials.

     

Effect of the thickness of InGaN interlayer on a-plane GaN epilayer

In this paper,we use the a-plane InGaN interlayer to improve the property of a-plane GaN.Based on the a-InGaN interlayer,a template exhibits that a regular,porous structure,which acts as a compliant effect,can be obtained to release the strain caused by the lattice and thermal mismatch between a-GaN and r-sapphire.We find that the thickness of InGaN has a great influence on the growth of a-GaN.The surface morphology and crystalline quality both are first improved and then deteriorated with increasing the thickness of the InGaN interlayer.When the InGaN thickness exceeds a critical point,the a-GaN epilayer peels off in the process of cooling down to room temperature.This is an attractive way of lifting off a-GaN films from the sapphire substrate.     

Fourier analysis of scratches generated on m‐GaN substrates during polishing

Generation of scratches on surface of m‐plane GaN substrates due to polishing was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). For epi‐ready substrates AFM images confirm a flat surface with the atomic step roughness while a lot of scratches are visible in AFM images for partially polished GaN substrates. The Fourier analysis of AFM images show that scratches propagate easier along {c‐plane} and {a‐plane} directions on m‐plane GaN surface. This observation is an evidence of anisotropy of mechanical properties of GaN crystals in the micro‐scale. This anisotropy is directly correlated with the symmetry and atomic arrangement of m‐plane GaN.     

Wearable Multiparameter Platform Based on AlGaN/GaN High‐electron‐mobility Transistors for Real‐time Monitoring of pH and Potassium Ions in Sweat

Biosensors based on field‐effect transistor (FET) structures have attracted considerable attention because they offer rapid, inexpensive parallel sensing and ultrasensitive label‐free detection. However, long‐term repeatable detection cannot be performed, and Ag/AgCl reference electrode design is complicated, which has hindered FET biosensors from becoming truly wearable health‐monitoring platforms. In this paper, we propose a novel wearable detection platform based on AlGaN/GaN high‐electron‐mobility transistors (HEMTs). In this platform, a sweatband was used to continuously collect sweat, and a pH detecting unit and a potassium ion detecting unit were formed by modifying different sensitive films to realize the long‐term stable and repeatable detection of pH and potassium ions. Experimental data show that the wearable detection platform based on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs has good sensitivity (pH 3–7 sensitivity is 45.72 μA/pH; pH 7.4–9 sensitivity is 51.073 μA/pH; and K⁺ sensitivity is 4.94 μA/lgα_K⁺), stability (28 days) and repeatability (the relative standard deviation (RSD) of pH 3–7 sensitivity is 2.6 %, the RSD of pH 7.4–9 sensitivity is 2.1 %, and the RSD of K⁺ sensitivity is 7.3 %). Our newly proposed wearable platform has excellent potential for predictive analytics and personalized medical treatment.     

C-V analysis of rapidly thermal annealed SF6 plasma treated AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

We studied influence of rapid thermal annealing on electrical parameters of SF₆ plasma treated AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. The main emphasis by the evaluation was laid on C-V measurement and simulation, but also I-V and SIMS measurement were used. It was found that the diminished sheet carrier concentration of a two-dimensional electron gas after plasma treatment recovered significantly at the temperature of 500 °C. By using C-V measurement, it was possible to assess besides the changes of the two-dimensional electron gas concentration after annealing also the changes in the Schottky barrier heights and to find out the doping concentration in AlGaN barrier and GaN channel layer. The trend in Schottky barrier height changes after annealing was confirmed also by I-V measurement.     

A study on Al2O3 passivation in GaN MOS-HEMT by pulsed stress

This paper studies systematically the drain current collapse in AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors （MOS-HEMTs） by applying pulsed stress to the device. Low-temperature layer of Al2O3 ultrathin film used as both gate dielectric and surface passivation layer was deposited by atomic layer deposition （ALD）. For HEMT, gate turn-on pulses induced large current collapse. However, for MOS-HEMT, no significant current collapse was found in the gate turn-on pulsing mode with different pulse widths, indicating the good passivation effect of ALD Al2O3. A small increase in Id in the drain pulsing mode is due to the relieving of self-heating effect. The comparison of synchronously dynamic pulsed Id - Vds characteristics of HEMT and MOS-HEMT further demonstrated the good passivation effect of ALD Al2O3.     

Structural and optoelectronic properties of amorphous GaN thin films

Amorphous gallium nitride (a-GaN) thin films were deposited on glass substrate by electron beam evaporation technique at room temperature and high vacuum using N ₂ as carrier gas. The structural properties of the films was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was clear from XRD spectra and SEM study that the GaN thin films were amorphous. The absorbance, transmittance and reflectance spectra of these films were measured in the wavelength range of 300–2200 nm. The absorption coefficient spectral analysis in the sharp absorption region revealed a direct band gap of E _g = 3:1 eV. The data analysis allowed the determination of the dispersive optical parameters by calculating the refractive index. The oscillator energy E ₀ and the dispersion energy E _d, which is a measure of the average strength of inter-band optical transition or the oscillator strength, were determined. Electrical conductivity of a-GaN was measured in a different range of temperatures. Then, activation energy of a-GaN thin films was calculated which equalled E _a = 0:434 eV.     

Luminescence in GaN co-doped with carbon and silicon

GaN samples, containing various concentrations of carbon and doped intentionally with silicon, have been grown heteroepitaxially on sapphire using metal-organic-chemical-vapor deposition. Previous electrical and optical data, together with Density Functional calculations, have suggested that carbon is incorporated at acceptor and donor substitutional sites in this material; the relative importance of each is determined by the Fermi level position and the growth conditions. Here the luminescence behavior of these materials is examined in more detail, including spectral, temperature, and time dependences under ultraviolet light and electron beam excitation conditions. Particular attention is given to the commonly observed “yellow band” at , a blue luminescence at seen only in samples where carbon is the majority dopant, and ultraviolet bands near . Our data suggest that the latter two bands are both donor-acceptor related with the final state being the negatively charged state of a carbon atom substituting for nitrogen. In samples where carbon is the majority dopant, extended luminescence excitation at low temperatures results in large changes in the brightness of the yellow and blue luminescence bands. These effects are similar to other recent observations of luminescence metastability in high resistivity GaN, and we suggest that carbon plays a crucial role in this phenomenon.