E. J. Miller

Analysis of leakage current mechanisms in Schottky contacts to GaN and Al0.25Ga0.75N∕GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements combined with conductive atomic force microscopy and analytical modeling have been used to assess possible mechanisms of reverse-bias leakage current flow in Schottky diodes fabricated from GaN and Al0.25Ga0.75N∕GaN structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Below 150K, leakage current is nearly independent of temperature, indicating that conduction is dominated by tunneling transport. At higher temperatures, leakage current in both GaN and Al0.25Ga0.75N∕GaN diode structures is well described by a Frenkel-Poole emission model. Based on the inferred emission barrier heights and the observation that room-temperature leakage current is dominated by the presence of highly conductive dislocations, it is suggested that the key carrier transport process is emission of electrons from a trap state near the metal-semiconductor interface into a continuum of states associated with each conductive dislocation. In this model for leakage current flow, the emission barr...

Analysis of reverse-bias leakage current mechanisms in GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Temperature-dependent current–voltage measurements have been used to determine the reverse-bias leakage current mechanisms in Schottky diodes fabricated on GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, and two dominant mechanisms are clearly identified. The first mechanism is field-emission tunneling from the metal into the semiconductor, which is dominant at low temperatures and which, at higher temperatures, becomes significant for large reverse-bias voltages. The second mechanism, presumed to be associated with dislocation-related leakage current paths, is observed to have an exponential temperature dependence and becomes significant above approximately 275 K. The temperature dependence of the second mechanism is consistent with either one-dimensional variable-range-hopping conduction along the dislocation or trap-assisted tunneling.

Measurement of polarization charge and conduction-band offset at InxGa1−xN/GaN heterojunction interfaces

The spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization fields in group-III nitride semiconductors lead to the presence of large electrostatic sheet charge densities at nitride semiconductor heterojunction interfaces. Precise quantitative knowledge of these polarization-induced charge densities and of the band-edge discontinuities at nitride heterojunction interfaces is therefore essential in nitride semiconductor device design and analysis. We have used capacitance–voltage profiling to measure the conduction-band offset and polarization charge density at InxGa1−xN/GaN heterojunction interfaces with x=0.054 and x=0.09. We obtain conduction-band offsets ΔEC=0.09±0.07 eV for x=0.054 and ΔEC=0.22±0.05 eV for x=0.09, corresponding to an averaged conduction-to-valence-band offset ratio ΔEC:ΔEV of 58:42. Our measurements yield polarization charge densities of (1.80±0.32)×1012 e/cm2 for x=0.054 and (4.38±0.36)×1012 e/cm2 for x=0.09. These values are smaller than those predicted by recent theoretical calculations, but in ...

Trap characterization by gate-drain conductance and capacitance dispersion studies of an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor

Gate-drain capacitance and conductance measurements were performed on an Al0.15Ga0.85N/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor to study the effects of trap states on frequency-dependent device characteristics. By varying the measurement frequency in addition to the bias applied to the gate, the density and time constants of the trap states have been determined as functions of gate bias. Detailed analysis of the frequency-dependent capacitance and conductance data was performed assuming models in which traps are present at the heterojunction (interface traps), in the AlGaN barrier layer (bulk traps), and at the gate contact (metal–semiconductor traps). Bias-dependent measurements were performed at voltages in the vicinity of the transistor threshold voltage, yielding time constants on the order of 1 μs and trap densities of approximately 1012 cm−2 eV−1.

Reduction of reverse-bias leakage current in Schottky diodes on GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy using surface modification with an atomic force microscope

The characteristics of dislocation-related leakage current paths in an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and their mitigation by local surface modification have been investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy. When a voltage is applied between the tip in an atomic force microscope (AFM) and the sample, a thin insulating layer is formed in the vicinity of the leakage paths where current is observed. As the insulating layer reaches a thickness of 2–3 nm, the leakage current is blocked and subsequent growth of the layer is prevented. Although conductive screw or mixed dislocations are observed, dislocations with a screw component that do not conduct current are also apparent. The reverse-bias leakage current is reduced by a factor of two in a large-area diode fabricated on an area modified in this manner with an AFM compared to typical diodes fabricated on unmodified areas with comparable series resistances, confirming that dislocation-related leakage current paths are a ma...

Lateral variations in threshold voltage of an AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor measured by scanning capacitance spectroscopy

Local dC/dV spectroscopy performed in a scanning capacitance microscope (SCM) was used to map, quantitatively and with high spatial resolution (∼50 nm), lateral variations in the threshold voltage of an AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor epitaxial layer structure. Scanning capacitance and the associated threshold voltage images show small round features less than 150 nm in diameter with a corresponding shift in threshold voltage of about 1.5–2 V, and larger features several microns in size with a corresponding shift in threshold voltage of approximately 1 V. The small features in the SCM and threshold voltage images are consistent with the presence of charged threading dislocations, while the variations in threshold voltage over large areas could be a result of thickness and/or composition variations in the AlxGa1−xN layer.

Reverse-bias leakage current reduction in GaN Schottky diodes by electrochemical surface treatment

An electrochemical surface treatment has been developed that decreases the reverse-bias leakage current in Schottky diodes fabricated on GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). This treatment suppresses current flow through localized leakage paths present in MBE-grown GaN, while leaving other diode characteristics, such as the Schottky barrier height, largely unaffected. A reduction in leakage current of three orders of magnitude was observed for Schottky diodes fabricated on the modified surface compared to diodes fabricated on the unmodified surface for reverse-bias voltages as large as -20 V. In addition to suppressing reverse-bias leakage, the surface treatment was found to improve substantially the ideality factor of the modified surface diodes compared to that of unmodified surface diodes, suggesting that such a surface modification process could be useful for a variety of GaN-based electronic devices

Direct measurement of the polarization charge in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures using capacitance–voltage carrier profiling

The polarization charge at AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure interfaces arising from differences in spontaneous polarization between AlxGa1−xN and GaN and the presence of piezoelectric polarization in strained layers has been directly measured using capacitance–voltage carrier profiling in GaN/AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructures with varying Al composition grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The measured polarization charge densities (2.36±0.30×1012 e/cm2, 6.79±0.48×1012 e/cm2, and 6.92±0.74×1012 e/cm2 for 5%, 12%, and 16% AlxGa1−xN/GaN interfaces, respectively) reveal substantial bowing in the polarization charge as a function of Al composition, and are in reasonable agreement with those calculated using a model that accounts for the nonlinearity of the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations as functions of Al composition. Our results yield an explicit expression for polarization charge as a function of Al composition at an AlxGa1−xN/GaN interface.

Origin and microscopic mechanism for suppression of leakage currents in Schottky contacts to GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Dislocation-related conduction paths in n-type GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and a mechanism for local suppression of current flow along these paths are analyzed using conductive atomic force microscopy, scanning Auger spectroscopy, and macroscopic current–voltage measurements. Application of an electric field at the GaN surface in an ambient atmospheric environment is shown to lead to local formation of gallium oxide in the immediate vicinity of the conduction paths, resulting in the strong suppression of subsequent current flow. Current–voltage measurements for Schottky diodes in which local conduction paths have been suppressed in this manner exhibit reverse-bias leakage currents reduced by two to four orders of magnitude compared to those in Schottky diodes not subjected to any surface modification process. These results demonstrate that the dislocation-related current leakage paths are the dominant source of leakage current in Schottky contacts to n-type GaN grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, and elucidate the nature of a microscopic process for their suppression.

Quantitative analysis of nanoscale electronic properties in an AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor structure

Local dC/dV spectroscopy performed in a scanning capacitance microscope is used to map, quantitatively and with high spatial resolution, lateral variations in the threshold voltage of an AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistor epitaxial layer structure. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are used to quantify charge concentrations, the corresponding threshold voltage shifts, and the influence of the measurement apparatus on these results. High-resolution scanning capacitance and the associated threshold voltage images reveal round features <150 nm in diameter within which a shift in threshold voltage of about 1.5–2 V is measured. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations indicate that these features are consistent with the presence of charged threading dislocations with a linear charge density of ∼107 e/cm−1 that cause localized partial or full depletion of carriers from the two-dimensional electron gas. Large-scale scanning capacitance images reveal variations in contrast ov...