Electrical characteristics of AlInN/GaN HEMTs under cryogenic operation

Electrical properties of an AlInN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) on a sapphire substrate are investi-gated in a cryogenic temperature range from 295 K down to 50 K. It is shown that drain saturation current and conductance increase as transistor operation temperature decreases. A self-heating effect is observed over the entire range of temperature under high power consumption. The dependence of channel electron mobility on electron density is investigated in detail. It is found that aside from Coulomb scattering, electrons that have been pushed away from the AlInN/GaN interface into the bulk GaN substrate at a large reverse gate voltage are also responsible for the electron mobility drop with the decrease of electron density.     

纤锌矿结构AlInN电子及光学性质的第一性原理研究

本文通过基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理,研究了纤锌矿结构Al1-xInxN在不同In浓度下的稳固结构,以及电子和光学性质的变化规律。研究表明,AlInN不同In浓度的晶格结构都很稳定,说明AlInN的兼容性很好。晶格常数随In浓度的增大不断增大,而混晶的带隙则不断减小。并且随In浓度的增大,混晶在紫外光区的吸收系数、反射系数及折射率增大,吸收边、吸收峰和反射峰蓝移,且这两个峰的峰值减小。AlInN的吸收、反射和折射率曲线在Eg处出现峰值行为,此Eg处的峰值大小随In浓度的增加而增大。当In浓度达到87.5%时,混晶AlInN在紫外光区的吸收、反射和折射能力均达到最强,表明此时的掺杂效果最好。     

Well parameters of two‐dimensional electron gas in Al0.88In0.12N/AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructures grown by MOCVD

Resistivity and Hall effect measurements were carried out as a function of magnetic field (0‐1.5 T) and temperature (30‐300 K) for Al_0.88In_0.12N/AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructures grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD). Magnetic field dependent Hall data were analyzed by using the quantitative mobility spectrum analysis (QMSA). A two‐dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel located at the Al_0.88In_0.12N/GaN interface with an AlN interlayer and a two‐dimensional hole gas (2DHG) channel located at the GaN/AlN interface were determined for Al_0.88In_0.12N/AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructures. The interface parameters, such as quantum well width, the deformation potential constant and correlation length as well as the dominant scattering mechanisms for the Al_0.88In_0.12N/GaN interface with an AlN interlayer were determined from scattering analyses based on the exact 2DEG carrier density and mobility obtained with QMSA. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Hot‐electron drift velocity and hot‐phonon decay in AlInN/AlN/GaN

A nanosecond‐pulsed current–voltage technique was applied to study hot‐electron transport along the two‐dimensional electron gas channel confined at a nominally undoped AlInN/AlN/GaN heterointerface. Hot‐electron drift velocity was deduced under the assumptions of uniform longitudinal electric field and field‐independent electron sheet density. At a fixed electric field strength, a resonance‐type non‐monotonous dependence of the velocity on the electron density was found in the investigated range from 1 to When the electric field increased from 20 kV/cm to 80 kV/cm, the peak velocity increased from ～1.1 to cm/s, and the position of the resonance shifted from ～1.1 to ～1.2 respectively. The resonance position correlates with that for the fastest decay of hot phonons known from independent experiment. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

纤锌矿结构AlInN电子及光学性质的第一性原理研究

本文通过基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理,研究了纤锌矿结构Al1-xInxN在不同In浓度下的稳固结构,以及电子和光学性质的变化规律。研究表明,AlInN不同In浓度的晶格结构都很稳定,说明AlInN的兼容性很好。晶格常数随In浓度的增大不断增大,而混晶的带隙则不断减小。并且随In浓度的增大,混晶在紫外光区的吸收系数、反射系数及折射率增大,吸收边、吸收峰和反射峰蓝移,且这两个峰的峰值减小。AlInN的吸收、反射和折射率曲线在Eg处出现峰值行为,此Eg处的峰值大小随In浓度的增加而增大。当In浓度达到87.5%时,混晶AlInN在紫外光区的吸收、反射和折射能力均达到最强,表明此时的掺杂效果最好。     

The advantage of blue InGaN multiple quantum wells light-emitting diodes with p-AlInN electron blocking layer

InGaN based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with different electron blocking layers have been numerically investigated using the APSYS simulation software. It is found that the structure with a p-AlInN electron blocking layer showes improved light output power, lower current leakage, and smaller efficiency droop. Based on numerical simulation and analysis, these improvements of the electrical and optical characteristics are mainly attributed to the efficient electron blocking in the InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs).     

Design of AlInN on silicon heterojunctions grown by sputtering for solar devices

AlInN alloys offer great potential for photovoltaics thanks to their wide direct bandgap covering the solar spectrum from the infrared (0.7 eV – InN) to the ultraviolet (6.2 eV – AlN), and their superior resistance to high temperatures and high-energy particles. We report the design of AlInN-on-silicon heterojunctions grown by radio-frequency sputtering to explore their potential for low-cost devices. Particularly, we study the influence of AlInN bandgap energy, thickness and carrier concentration, silicon surface recombination, interface defect density and wafer quality, on the photovoltaic properties of the junction. The effect of introducing an anti-reflective coating is also assessed. Optimized AlInN-on-Si structures show a conversion efficiency of 23.6% under 1-sun AM1.5G illumination. In comparison with silicon homojunctions, they own an improved responsivity at wavelengths below 500 nm. These results make AlInN-on-Si heterojunctions a promising technology for solar devices with impact in space applications. Experimental results on novel AlInN-on-Si solar cells are also presented.     

Standard‐free composition measurements of Alx In1–xN by low‐loss electron energy loss spectroscopy

We demonstrate a standard‐free method to retrieve compositional information in Al_x In_1–xN thin films by measuring the bulk plasmon energy (E_p), employing electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Two series of samples were grown by magnetron sputter epitaxy (MSE) and metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), which together cover the full com‐ positional range 0 ≤ x ≤ 1. Complementary compositional measurements were obtained using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and the lattice parameters were obtained by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). It is shown that E_p follows a linear relation with respect to composition and lattice parameter between the alloying elements from AlN to InN allowing for straightforward compositional analysis. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Intersubband energies in Al1−yInyN/Ga1−xInxN heterostructures with lattice constant close to aGaN

We have studied the conduction band profile and the intersubband transition energy, E₁₂, of Al_1−yIn_yN/Ga_1−xIn_xN quantum well structures. We have considered how material parameters such as non-parabolicity and the uncertainty in the bowing parameter affect E₁₂ and the corresponding wavelength, λ₁₂. The calculations include strain and cover the transition range from telecommunication wavelengths (1.55 μm) to the mid-infrared (∼ 10 μm).     

Structural and electronic properties of wurtzite,zincblende and rocksalt Al1 − xInxN ternary alloys at ambient and high pressure

ABSTRACT

Although AlInN is originally a wurtzite structure, zincblende and rocksalt are other potential phases. It will be interesting to have a comparative study of the physical properties of this compound in various phases. A DFT-based study of wurtzite, zincblende and rocksalt phases of AlInN alloys is carried out. Structural (lattice parameter, bulk modulus) and electronic properties (energy band gap, and electron effective mass) of the Al_{1??? x}In_xN alloys are investigated, at ambient pressure, throughout the whole range of indium contents for all considered phases. High pressure effects on the studied parameters are also examined, with the phase transition pressures computed for different values of In concentrations, and compared with available data. Structural density functional calculations are performed with Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof gradient-corrected functional for solids (PBEsol), while electronic structure is computed with the modified Becke–Johnson (TB-mBJ) potential exchange to ensure a better accuracy of calculated the band gaps. Alloy randomness is taken into account using a special quasi-random structure.