Ni Jin-Yu

GaN MOS-HEMT Using Ultra-Thin Al2O3 Dielectric Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

We report a GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT) with atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 gate dielectric. Based on the previous work [Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 (2005) 063501] of Ye et al. by decreasing the thickness of the gate oxide to 3.5 nm and optimizing the device fabrication process, the device with maximum transconductance of 150 mS/mm is produced and discussed in comparison with the result of 100 mS/mm of Ye et al. The corresponding drain current density in the 0.8-μm-gate-length MOS-HEMT is 800 mA/mm at the gate bias of 3.0 V. The gate leakage is two orders of magnitude lower than that of the conventional AlGaN/GaN HEMT. The excellent characteristics of this novel MOS-HEMT device structure with ALD Al2O3 gate dielectric are presented.

Characterization of GaN grown on 4H-SiC and sapphire by Raman spectroscopy and high resolution XRD ∗

The crystal quality, stress and strain of GaN grown on 4H-SiC and sapphire are characterized by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The large stress in GaN leads to the generation of a large number of dislocations. The Raman stress is determined by the results of HRXRD. The position and line shape of the A1 longitudinal optical (LO) phonon mode is used to determine the free carrier concentration and electron mobility in GaN. The differences between free carrier concentration and electron mobility in GaN grown on sapphire and 4H-SiC are analyzed.

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

This paper discusses the effect of N2 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 N2 plasma. Furthermore, effects of N2 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.

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 A12O3.

Improved electrical properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures using high temperature AlN interlayers

The electrical properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures using high temperature (HT) AlN interlayers (ITs) grown on c-plane sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been investigated. It is found that the electrical properties (electron mobility and sheet carrier density) are improved compared with those in the conventional AlGaN/GaN heterostructures without HT AlN ITs, and the improved 2DEG properties result in the reduction of the sheet resistance. The results from high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and Raman spectroscopy measurements show that HT AlN ITs increase the in-plane compressive strain in the upper GaN layer, which enhances the piezoelectric polarization in it and consequently causes increasing of 2DEG density at the AlGaN/GaN interface. Meanwhile, the compressive strain induced by HT AlN ITs leads to a less tensile strain in AlGaN barrier layer and causes positive and negative effects on the sheet carrier density of 2DEG, which counteract each other. The HT AlN ITs reduce the lattice mismatch between the GaN and AlGaN layers and smooth the interface between them, thus increasing the electric mobility of 2DEG by weakening the alloy-related interface roughness and scattering. In addition, the surface morphology of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures is improved by the insertion of HT AlN ITs. The reason for the improved properties is discussed in this paper.

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on 4-Inch Silicon Substrates in the Presence of 2.7-μm-Thick Epilayers with the Maximum Off-State Breakdown Voltage of 500 V

We report on the high breakdown performance of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown on 4-inch silicon substrates. The HEMT structure including three Al-content step-graded AlGaN transition layers has a total thickness of 2.7 μm. The HEMT with a gate width WG of 300 μm acquires a maximum off-state breakdown voltage (BV) of 550 V and a maximum drain current of 527 mA/mm at a gate voltage of 2 V. It is found that BV is improved with the increase of gate-drain distance LGD until it exceeds 8 μm and then BV is tended to saturation. While the maximum drain current drops continuously with the increase of LGD. The HEMT with a WG of 3 mm and a LGD of 8 μm obtains an off-state BV of 500 V. Its maximum leakage current is just 13 μA when the drain voltage is below 400 V. The device exhibits a maximum output current of 1 A with a maximum transconductance of 242 mS.

Structure and Strain Properties of GaN Films Grown on Si (111) Substrates with AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN Superlattices*

GaN films with an AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN superlattice (SL) buffer layer are grown on Si(111) substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The structure and strain properties of the samples are studied by optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometry and atomic force microscopy. The results show that the strain status and crystalline quality of the GaN layers are strongly dependent on the difference of the Al composition between AlxGa1−xN barriers and AlyGa1−yN wells in the SLs. With a large Al composition difference, the GaN film tends to generate cracks on the surface due to the severe relaxation of the SLs. Otherwise, when using a small Al composition difference, the crystalline quality of the GaN layer degrades due to the poor function of the SLs in filtering dislocations. Under an optimized condition that the Al composition difference equals 0.1, the crack-free and compressive strained GaN film with an improved crystalline quality is achieved. Therefore, the AlxGa1−xN/AlyGa1−yN SL buffer layer is a promising buffer structure for growing thick GaN films on Si substrates without crack generation.

Surface morphology of [112̄0] a-plane GaN growth by MOCVD on [11̄02] r-plane sapphire

Nonpolar a-plane [110] GaN has been grown on r-plane [102] sapphire by MOCVD, and investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. As opposed to the c-direction, this particular orientation is non-polar, and it avoids polarization charge, the associated screening charge and the consequent band bending. Both low-temperature GaN buffer and high-temperature AlN buffer are used for a-plane GaN growth on r-plane sapphire, and the triangular pits and pleat morphology come forth with different buffers, the possible reasons for which are discussed. The triangular and pleat direction are also investigated. A novel modulate buffer is used for a-plane GaN growth on r-plane sapphire, and with this technique, the crystal quality has been greatly improved.