Investigation of enhancement mode HfO2 insulated N-polarity GaN/InN/GaN/In0.9Al0.1N heterostructure MISHEMT for high-frequency applications

In this paper, we examined normally-OFF N-polar InN-channel Metal insulated semiconductor high-electron mobility transistors (MISHEMTs) device with a relaxed In_0.9Al_0.1N buffer layer. In addition, the enhancement-mode operation of the N-polar structure was investigated. The effect of scaling in N-polar MISHEMT, such as the dielectric and the channel thickness, alter the electrical behavior of the device. We have achieved a maximum drain current of 1.17 A/mm, threshold voltage (V_T) =0.728 V, transconductance (g_m) of 2.9 S mm⁻¹, high I_ON/I_OFF current ratio of 3.23×10³, lowest ON-state resistance (R_ON) of 0.41 Ω mm and an intrinsic delay time (τ) of 1.456 Fs along with high-frequency performance with f_t/ f_max of 90 GHz/109 GHz and 180 GHz/260 GHz for T_CH =0.5 nm at V_ds =0.5 V and 1.0 V. The numerically simulated results of highly confined GaN/InN/GaN/In_0.9Al_0.1N heterostructure MISHEMT exhibits outstanding potential as one of the possibility to replace presently used N-polar MISHEMTs for delivering high power density and frequency at RF/power amplifier applications.     

硅衬底GaN基LED N极性n型欧姆接触研究

在Si衬底GaN基垂直结构LED的N极性n型面上,利用电子束蒸发的方法制作了Ti/Al电极,通过了I-V曲线研究了有无AlN缓冲层对这种芯片欧姆接触的影响.结果显示,去除AlN缓冲层后的N极性n型面与Ti/Al电极在500到600 ℃范围内退火才能形成欧姆接触.而保留AlN缓冲层的N极性n型面与Ti/Al电极未退火时就表现为较好的欧姆接触,比接触电阻率为2×10^-5 Ω·cm²,即使退火温度升高至600 ℃,也始终保持着欧姆接触特性.因此,AlN缓冲层的存在是Si衬底GaN基垂直结构LED获得高热稳定性n型欧姆接触的关键. 关键词： 硅衬底 N极性 AlN缓冲层 欧姆接触     

Characterization of the N-polar GaN film grown on C-plane sapphire and misoriented C-plane sapphire substrates by MOCVD

Gallium nitride (GaN) thin film of the nitrogen polarity (N-polar) was grown on C-plane sapphire and misoriented C-plane sapphire substrates respectively by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The misorientation angle is off-axis from C-plane toward M-plane of the substrates, and the angle is 2° and 4° respectively. The nitrogen polarity was confirmed by examining the images of the scanning electron microscope before and after the wet etching in potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution. The morphology was studied by the optical microscope and atomic force microscope. The crystalline quality was characterized by the x-ray diffraction. The lateral coherence length, the tilt angle, the vertical coherence length, and the vertical lattice-strain were acquired using the pseudo-Voigt function to fit the x-ray diffraction curves and then calculating with four empirical formulae. The lateral coherence length increases with the misorientation angle, because higher step density and shorter distance between adjacent steps can lead to larger lateral coherence length. The tilt angle increases with the misorientation angle, which means that the misoriented substrate can degrade the identity of crystal orientation of the N-polar GaN film. The vertical lattice-strain decreases with the misorientation angle. The vertical coherence length does not change a lot as the misorientation angle increases and this value of all samples is close to the nominal thickness of the N-polar GaN layer. This study helps to understand the influence of the misorientation angle of misoriented C-plane sapphire on the morphology, the crystalline quality, and the microstructure of N-polar GaN films.     

The improvement of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT performance by N2 plasma pretreatment

This paper discusses the effect of N 2 plasma treatment before dielectric deposition on the electrical performance of a Al2O3 /AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor(MISHEMT),with Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition.The results indicated that the gate leakage was decreased two orders of magnitude after the Al2O3 /AlGaN interface was pretreated by N 2 plasma.Furthermore,effects of N 2 plasma pretreatment on the electrical properties of the AlGaN/Al2O3 interface were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and the interface quality between Al2O3 and AlGaN film was improved.     

Sodium beta-alumina thin films as gate dielectrics for A1GaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors

<正>Sodium beta-alumina（SBA） is deposited on AlGaN/GaN by using a co-deposition process with sodium and Al₂O₃ as the precursors.The X-ray diffraction（XRD） spectrum reveals that the deposited thin film is amorphous.The binding energy and composition of the deposited thin film,obtained from the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） measurement,are consistent with those of SBA.The dielectric constant of the SBA thin film is about 50.Each of the capacitance-voltage characteristics obtained at five different frequencies shows a high-quality interface between SBA and AlGaN.The interface trap density of metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor（MISHEMT） is measured to be（3.5～9.5）×10¹⁰ cm^-2·eV^-1 by the conductance method.The fixed charge density of SBA dielectric is on the order of 2.7×10¹² cm^-2.Compared with the AlGaN/GaN metal-semiconductor heterostructure high-electronmobility transistor（MESHEMT）,the AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT usually has a threshold voltage that shifts negatively. However,the threshold voltage of the AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT using SBA as the gate dielectric shifts positively from—5.5 V to—3.5 V.From XPS results,the surface valence-band maximum（VBM-E_F） of AlGaN is found to decrease from 2.56 eV to 2.25 eV after the SBA thin film deposition.The possible reasons why the threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT with the SBA gate dielectric shifts positively are the influence of SBA on surface valence-band maximum （VBM-E_F）,the reduction of interface traps and the effects of sodium ions,and/or the fixed charges in SBA on the two-dimensional electron gas（2DEG）.     

N极性GaN/AlGaN异质结二维电子气模拟

通过自洽求解薛定谔方程和泊松方程,较系统地研究了GaN沟道层、AlGaN背势垒层、Si掺杂和AlN插入层对N极性GaN/AlGaN异质结中二维电子气(2DEG)的影响,分析表明,GaN沟道层厚度、AlGaN背势垒层厚度及Al组分变大都能一定程度上提高二维电子气面密度,AlGaN背势垒层的厚度和Al组分变大也可提高二维电子气限阈性,且不同的Si掺杂形式对二维电子气的影响也有差异,而AlN插入层在提高器件二维电子气面密度、限阈性等方面表现都较为突出,在模拟中GaN沟道层厚度小于5nm时无法形成二维电子气,超过20nm后二维电子气面密度趋于饱和,而AlGaN背势垒厚度超过40nm后二维电子气也有饱和趋势,对均匀掺杂和delta掺杂而言AlGaN背势垒层Si掺杂浓度超过5×10~(19)cm~(-3)后2DEG面密度开始饱和,而厚度为2nmAlN插入层的引入会使2DEG面密度从无AlN插入层时的0.93×10~(13)cm~(-2)提高到1.17×10~(13)cm~(-2)。     

N极性GaN薄膜的MOCVD外延生长

采用MOCVD技术在c面蓝宝石衬底上外延制备了N极性GaN薄膜。通过KOH腐蚀的方法判定了GaN外延薄膜的极性。通过X射线双晶衍射(XRD)摇摆曲线和光致荧光(PL)谱测试研究了成核层生长时间对N极性GaN薄膜晶体质量和发光性能的影响。研究结果表明,成核层生长时间为300 s时,N极性GaN薄膜样品的位错密度最低,发光性能最好。采用拉曼(Raman)光谱对样品的应变状态进行了分析。     

Investigation of yellow luminescence intensity of N-polar unintentionally doped GaN

This paper reports that the yellow luminescence intensity of N-polar GaN Epi-layers is much lower than that of Ga-polar ones due to the inverse polarity,and reduces drastically in the N-polar unintentionally-doped GaN after etching in KOH solution.The ratio of yellow luminescence intensity to band-edge emission intensity decreases sharply with the etching time.The full width at half maximum of x-ray diffraction of(10-12) plane falls sharply after etching,and the surface morphology characterized by scanning electron microscope shows a rough surface that changes with the etching time.The mechanism for the generation of the yellow luminescence are explained in details.     

Low-resistance Cr/Al Ohmic contacts to N-polar n-type GaN for high-performance vertical light-emitting diodes

We investigated the electrical properties of Cr(30 nm)/Al(200 nm) contacts to N-polar n-type GaN for high-performance vertical light-emitting diodes and compare them with those of Ti(30 nm)/Al(200 nm) contacts. Before annealing, both the samples show ohmic behaviors with a contact resistivity of 1.9-2.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ωcm². Upon annealing at 250 °C for 1 min in N₂ ambient, the Ti/Al contacts become non-ohmic, while the Cr/Al contacts remain ohmic with a contact resistivity of 1.4 × 10⁻³ Ωcm². Based on X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry results, ohmic formation and degradation mechanisms are briefly described and discussed.