Andrew Hanser

High rate and selective etching of GaN, AlGaN, and AlN using an inductively coupled plasma

The etching behavior of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum gallium nitride (AlxGa1−xN), and aluminum nitride (AlN) has been systematically examined in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) using Cl2 and Ar as the reagents. Etch rates were strongly influenced by ICP power and dc bias, while relatively insensitive to pressure, flow rate, and gas composition. Maximum etch rates of 9800 A/min for GaN, 9060 A/min for Al0.28Ga0.72N, and 7490 A/min for AlN were attained. The etch profiles were highly anisotropic over the range of conditions studied. The dc bias had to exceed certain voltages before significant etch rates were obtained. These values were −50 V for AlN. As such, increasing selectivity for GaN over Al0.28Ga0.72N and AlN was achieved at dc biases below −40 V. At −20 V, the GaN etch rates were 38 times greater than AlN and a factor of 10 greater than Al0.28Ga0.72N. These results demonstrate the importance of ion bombardment in the etching of these materials.

High-quality bulk a-plane GaN sliced from boules in comparison to heteroepitaxially grown thick films on r-plane sapphire

Thick GaN bars with [1120] orientation have been sliced from GaN boules grown on freestanding films by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) in the [0001] direction. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study the structural quality and defect distribution in the material in comparison to heteroepitaxially grown thick HVPE-GaN films grown in the [1120] direction on (1102)-plane sapphire. It is demonstrated that while the heteroepitaxial material possesses a high density of stacking faults and partial dislocations, leading to anisotropic structural characteristics, the (1120)-plane bulk GaN, sliced from boules, exhibits low dislocation density and narrow rocking curves with isotropic in-plane character.

Temperature-dependent electrical characteristics of bulk GaN Schottky rectifier

The temperature-dependent electrical characteristics of Schottky rectifiers fabricated with a SiO2 field plate on a freestanding n− gallium nitride (GaN) substrate were reported in the temperature range of 298–473K. The Schottky barrier heights evaluated from forward current-voltage measurement revealed an increase of Schottky barrier height and series resistance but a decrease of ideality factor (n) with increasing temperature. However, the Schottky barrier heights evaluated from capacitance-voltage measurement remained almost the same throughout the temperature range measured. The Richardson constant extrapolated from ln(J0∕T2) vs 1∕T plot was found to be 0.029Acm−2K−2. A modified Richardson plot with ln(J0∕T2) vs 1∕nT showed better linearity, and the corresponding effective Richardson constant was 35Acm−2K−2. The device showed a high reverse breakdown voltage of 560V at room temperature. The negative temperature coefficients were found for reverse breakdown voltage, which is indicative of a defect-assi...

Electrical characteristics of bulk GaN-based Schottky rectifiers with ultrafast reverse recovery

A vertical Schottky diode rectifier was fabricated using a bulk n−GaN wafer. Pt Schottky contacts were prepared on the Ga face and full backside ohmic contact was prepared on the N face by using Ti∕Al. The root mean square surface roughnesses of the Ga and N faces are 0.61 and 4.7nm, respectively. A relatively high breakdown field of 5.46kV∕cm was achieved with no additional edge termination. The breakdown field decreases as the size of the device increases. The background electron concentration of the bulk GaN wafer was low (5×1015cm−3), which may lead to a relatively high breakdown field even with no special edge termination. The forward turn-on voltage was as low as 2.4V at the current density of 100A∕cm2. The device exhibited an ultrafast reverse recovery characteristics (reverse recovery time <20ns).

Fabrication and device characteristics of Schottky-type bulk GaN-based “visible-blind” ultraviolet photodetectors

The authors present the fabrication and characterization of vertical-geometry Schottky-type ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors based on a bulk n-GaN substrate. By using low temperature rapid thermal annealing of the semitransparent Schottky contacts (nickel with 7% vanadium), they obtained an ultralow dark current of 0.56pA at −10V reverse bias. A responsivity of ∼0.09A∕W at zero bias was measured for wavelength shorter than the absorption edge of GaN, and it was found to be independent of the incident power in the range measured (50mW∕m2–2.2kW∕m2). The devices are visible blind, with an UV/visible contrast of over six orders of magnitude. An open-circuit voltage of 0.3V was also obtained under a broadband UV illumination.

Growth and microstructure of InxGa1−xN films grown on SiC substrates via low pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Abstract The growth and microstructures of InxGa1−xN films (x≤0.23) grown on α(6H)–SiC(0001) wafer/AIN buffer layer/GaN heterostructures by low pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy have been investigated. The system deposition pressure limited the InN content in these films. The maximum InN contents achievable at the deposition pressures of 45 and 90 torr were ∼13 and ∼23%, respectively. Kinetic phenomena based on the rates of adsorption and desorption of the In growth species off the growth surface are presented to explain the film composition dependence on the system pressure. The surface morphologies and microstructures of the InxGa1−xN films were analyzed using several techniques, and the formation of pinhole defects in the films was investigated. Most of the pinhole defects were associated with threading dislocations with a c-component Burgers vector. Edge-type dislocations were never observed to terminate in pinholes in the samples observed here. Indium segregation to areas around the defect areas was observed, as was an In compositional gradient in the growth direction. Based on experimental observations, the strain field around dislocations with a c-component Burgers vector could result in the increase of In atoms at the dislocation sites in the film, which result in a change to the local growth mode of the film and causes the pinhole defects to form.

Defect and emission distributions in bulk GaN grown in polar and nonpolar directions: a comparative analysis

We have investigated bulk GaN material grown by HVPE either in the conventional polar [0001] direction and subsequently sliced with nonpolar surfaces or grown in the nonpolar [11-20] direction. Spatially resolved techniques such as cathodoluminescence imaging and transmission electron microscopy, as well as profile measuring techniques such as positron annihilation spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy were employed to directly visualize the extended structural defects, and point defect (impurity and vacancy) distributions along the growth axes. A comparative analysis of the results shows a distinctive difference in the distribution of all kind of defects along the growth axes. A significant decrease in the defect density in material grown along the polar direction, in contrast to the constant behavior of the high defect density in material grown along the nonpolar direction points out the low-defect superior quality of the former material and indicates the preferable way of producing high-quality GaN substrates with nonpolar surfaces.

Bulk GaN-Based Schottky rectifier and UV photodetector

High power switches are indispensable components in electronic subsystems for applications such as advanced hybrid electric vehicles. Due to its unipolar nature, a Schottky diode does not exhibit the minority carrier storage effect, and the device has a negligible reverse current transient. Therefore, faster switching can be achieved with Schottky diodes compared to p-n junction diodes. The successful application of Schottky diodes for power rectification also requires efficient thermal management. In this regard, GaN offers an additional advantage due to its relatively high thermal conductivity (compared to Si). A major disadvantage of sapphire substrates that are widely used for epitaxial growth is the poor thermal conductivity (0.5W/cm-K) which limits high current conduction. Recent studies have shown that high quality, low dislocation density, bulk GaN substrates have a relatively high thermal conductivity of 2.3W/cm-K. Furthermore, it is expected that the bulk GaN substrate allows vertical device geometries with a full backside ohmic contact for much higher current conduction compared to lateral rectifiers fabricated on insulating substrates.

Characterization of Non-Polar Surfaces in HVPE Grown Gallium Nitride

Non-polar surfaces of HVPE grown GaN were characterized by cathodoluminescence (CL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Both of a- and m-plane GaN were prepared by growing thick GaN along the c-axis, and cutting in transverse orientations. The exposed non-polar surfaces were prepared by mechanical polishing (MP) and chemically mechanical polishing (CMP). Non-uniform luminescent characteristics on a- and m-plane GaN were observed in CL images, indicating a higher concentration of impurities in the area of more luminescence. CL spectra from the bulk samples revealed two peaks: 364 nm and 510 nm, related to band edge and impurity defects respectively. The detection by SIMS confirmed that oxygen was inhomogeneously incorporated during the growth of thick GaN layers. Surface qualities of a- and m-plane GaN were also investigated. The lower optical intensities from a-plane GaN at low acceleration voltages indicated more surface damages were introduced during polish. The optical intensity difference from the two samples was reduced at higher acceleration voltages. Similar CL intensities at low acceleration voltages from a- and mplane GaN substrates prepared by CMP indicated improved surface qualities.

Strain-free low-defect-density bulk GaN with nonpolar orientations

Bulk GaN sliced in bars along (11-20) and (1-100) planes from a boule grown in the [0001] direction by HVPE was confirmed as strain free material with a low dislocation density by using several characterization techniques. The high-structural quality of the material allows photoluminescence studies of free excitons, principal donor bound excitons and their twoelectron satellites with regard to the optical selection rules. Raman scattering study of the bulk GaN with nonpolar orientations allows a direct access to the active phonon modes and a direct determination of their strain-free positions.