Shigeyoshi Usami

Initial leakage current paths in the vertical-type GaN-on-GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Electrical characteristics of leakage current paths in vertical-type n-GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on free-standing GaN substrates are investigated by using photon emission microscopy (PEM). The PEM mapping shows that the initial failure of the SBD devices at low voltages is due to the leakage current paths from polygonal pits in the GaN epilayers. It is observed that these polygonal pits originate from carbon impurity accumulation to the dislocations with a screw-type component by microstructure analysis. For the SBD without polygonal pits, no initial failure is observed and the first leakage appeals at the edge of electrodes as a result of electric field concentration. The mechanism of leakage at pits is explained in terms of trap assisted tunneling through fitting current-voltage characteristics.

Correlation between dislocations and leakage current of p-n diodes on a free-standing GaN substrate

Dislocations that cause a reverse leakage current in vertical p-n diodes on a GaN free-standing substrate were investigated. Under a high reverse bias, dot-like leakage spots were observed using an emission microscope. Subsequent cathodoluminescence (CL) observations revealed that the leakage spots coincided with part of the CL dark spots, indicating that some types of dislocation cause reverse leakage. When etch pits were formed on the dislocations by KOH etching, three sizes of etch pits were obtained (large, medium, and small). Among these etch pits, only the medium pits coincided with leakage spots. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that pure screw dislocations are present under the leakage spots. The results revealed that 1c pure screw dislocations are related to the reverse leakage in vertical p-n diodes.

Evaluation of excess In during metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy growth of InGaN by monitoring via in situ laser scattering

Using an in situ laser absorption and scattering method, the surface roughness and incorporation of In in InGaN layers grown by metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) were monitored. We observed that the laser light with energy higher than the GaN bandgap was fully absorbed in a GaN layer with a smooth film surface. On the other hand, we observed that the scattering laser light from the surface when the roughness of the InGaN surface increased owing to the formation of In droplets. Laser light with energy lower than the GaN bandgap was weakly absorbed by the GaN layer and was scattered at the back surface of the wafer. Furthermore, laser light intensity decreased during InGaN growth because of In incorporation. The threshold of trimethyl-In (TMIn) for the formation of In droplets as a function of growth temperature was determined using our in situ system. Moreover, we observed that the In droplets were removed by thermal or H2 treatment. The results indicate that multiwavelength laser absorption and scattering enable the optimization of the growth conditions for In-rich InGaN.