P. Kozodoy

Anisotropic epitaxial lateral growth in GaN selective area epitaxy

Epitaxial lateral mask overgrowth which occurs during GaN selective epitaxy has been studied using linear mask features. The lateral growth varies between its maximum and minimum over a 30° angular span and exhibits hexagonal symmetry. Vertical growth follows an opposite trend, with lateral growth maxima, and vertical growth minima occurring for lines parallel to the GaN 〈10•0〉. Large variations in the lateral growth are also obtained through variations in the growth temperature and NH3 flow. Under proper growth conditions, lateral to vertical growth rate ratios of up to 4.1 can be achieved, resulting in significant lateral mask overgrowth and coalescence of features without excessive growth times.

Electrical characterization of GaN p-n junctions with and without threading dislocations

The effect of dislocations on the electrical characteristics of GaN p-n junctions has been examined through current–voltage measurements. Lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) was used to produce areas of low dislocation density in close proximity to areas with the high dislocation density typical for growth on sapphire. A comparison of p-n diodes fabricated in each region reveals that reverse-bias leakage current is reduced by three orders of magnitude on LEO GaN. Temperature-dependent measurements on the LEO diodes indicate that the remaining leakage current in these devices is associated with a deep trap level.

Very high breakdown voltage and large transconductance realized on GaN heterojunction field effect transistors

We report record high breakdown voltages up to 340 and 230 V realized on unintentionally doped (1.5 μm gate length) and Si doped (1 μm gate length) AlGaN/GaN modulation doped field effect transistors (MODFETs), respectively. The devices also have large transconductances up to 140 mS/mm and a full channel current of 150–400 mA/mm. The Si doped MODFET sample demonstrated a very high room temperature mobility of 1500 cm2/Vs. With these specifications, GaN field effect transistors as microwave power devices are practical.

High-performance (Al,Ga)N-based solar-blind ultraviolet p–i–n detectors on laterally epitaxially overgrown GaN

Solar-blind ultraviolet photodiodes with a band-edge wavelength of 285 nm were fabricated on laterally epitaxially overgrown GaN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Current–voltage measurements of the diodes exhibited dark current densities as low as 10 nA/cm2 at −5 V. Spectral response measurements revealed peak responsivities of up to 0.05 A/W. Response times for these diodes were measured to be as low as 4.5 ns for 90%-to-10% fall time. For comparison, diodes were fabricated using the same p–i–n structure deposited on dislocated GaN. These diodes had dark current densities many orders of magnitude higher, as well as a less sharp cutoff, and a significant slow tail under impulse excitation.

Microstructure of GaN laterally overgrown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Extended defect reduction in GaN grown by lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) on large-area SiO2/GaN/Al2O3 wafers by low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is characterized using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The laterally overgrown GaN (LEO GaN) has a rectangular cross section with smooth (0001) and {1120} facets. The density of mixed-character and pure edge threading dislocations in the LEO GaN (<5×106 cm−2) is reduced by at least 3–4 orders of magnitude from that of bulk GaN (∼1010 cm−2). A small number of edge dislocations with line directions parallel to the basal plane are generated between the bulk-like overgrown GaN and the LEO GaN regions as well as at the intersection of adjacent merging LEO GaN stripes. The edge dislocations are most likely generated to accommodate the small misorientation between bulk-like GaN and LEO GaN regions as well as between adjacent single-crystal LEO GaN stripes.

Scanning capacitance microscopy imaging of threading dislocations in GaN films grown on (0001) sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A combination of atomic force microscopy and scanning capacitance microscopy was used to investigate the relationship between the surface morphology and the near-surface electrical properties of GaN films grown on c-axis sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Local regions surrounding the surface termination of threading dislocations displayed a reduced change in capacitance with applied voltage relative to regions that contained no dislocations. Capacitance–voltage characteristics obtained from these regions indicated the presence of negative charge in the vicinity of dislocations.

Heavy doping effects in Mg-doped GaN

The electrical properties of p-type Mg-doped GaN are investigated through variable-temperature Hall effect measurements. Samples with a range of Mg-doping concentrations were prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor phase deposition. A number of phenomena are observed as the dopant density is increased to the high values typically used in device applications: the effective acceptor energy depth decreases from 190 to 112 meV, impurity conduction at low temperature becomes more prominent, the compensation ratio increases, and the valence band mobility drops sharply. The measured doping efficiency drops in samples with Mg concentration above 2×1020 cm−3.

Enhanced Mg doping efficiency in Al0.2Ga0.8N/GaN superlattices

High p-type conductivity of Mg-doped AlGaN/GaN superlattices is demonstrated. The measured hole concentration at room temperature is over 2.5×1018 cm−3, more than ten times that obtained in bulk AlGaN layers, and lateral resistivity as low as 0.2 Ω cm is realized. The temperature dependence of the resistivity is drastically reduced compared to bulk films, providing evidence of the formation of a confined hole gas. Valence band bending due primarily to piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization is identified as the origin of these effects.

WHITE LIGHT FROM INGAN/CONJUGATED POLYMER HYBRID LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES

We report white light emission from InGaN/conjugated polymer hybrid light-emitting diodes (LEDs). White light sources (or sources with various colors) are achieved by combining the photoluminescence (PL) from semiconducting (conjugated) polymers with the emission from high efficiency InGaN based LEDs; the InGaN based LED provides the blue component and, simultaneously, serves as the short wavelength pump source for exciting the PL of the polymer film(s).

Polarization-enhanced Mg doping of AlGaN/GaN superlattices

The hole-transport properties of Mg-doped AlGaN/GaN superlattices are carefully examined. Variable-temperature Hall-effect measurements indicate that the use of such superlattices enhances the average hole concentration at a temperature of 120 K by over five orders of magnitude compared to a bulk GaN film (the enhancement at room temperature is a factor of 9). An unusual modulation-doping scheme, which has been realized using molecular-beam epitaxy, has yielded high-hole-mobility superlattices and conclusively demonstrated the pivotal role of piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization in determining the band structure of the superlattices.