Yachao Zhang

Effect of atomic layer deposition growth temperature on the interfacial characteristics of HfO2/p-GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors

The effect of atomic layer deposition (ALD) growth temperature on the interfacial characteristics of p-GaAs MOS capacitors with ALD HfO2 high-k dielectric using tetrakis(ethylmethyl)amino halfnium precursor is investigated in this study. Using the combination of capacitance-voltage (C-V) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements, ALD growth temperature is found to play a large role in controlling the reaction between interfacial oxides and precursor and ultimately determining the interface properties. The reduction of surface oxides is observed to be insignificant for ALD at 200 °C, while markedly pronounced for growth at 300 °C. The corresponding C-V characteristics are also shown to be ALD temperature dependent and match well with the XPS results. Thus, proper ALD process is crucial in optimizing the interface quality.

Effects of interlayer growth condition on the transport properties of heterostructures with InGaN channel grown on sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

The effects of AlN interlayer growth condition on the properties of InAlN/InGaN heterostructures are investigated in detail. Since the properties of InGaN channel are different from the traditional GaN channel, two-step AlN interlayer is proposed, which is proven to be more suitable for the InGaN channel heterostructures than the interlayers grown at constant temperature. Test results show that two-step AlN interlayer can not only significantly improve the interface morphology between the InGaN channel and barrier layers but also make an effective protection of the high-quality InGaN channel. The electron mobility of the InAlN/InGaN heterostructure with two-step AlN interlayer achieves 890 cm2/V s with a high two-dimensional-electron-gas density of 1.78 × 1013 cm−2. The gratifying results indicate that the InGaN channel heterostructure with two-step interlayer is a promising candidate for microwave power devices.

Effects of growth temperature on the properties of InGaN channel heterostructures grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition (P-MOCVD) is introduced into the growth of high quality InGaN channel heterostructures. The effects of InGaN channel growth temperature on the structural and transport properties of the heterostructures are investigated in detail. High resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and Photoluminescence (PL) spectra indicate that the quality of InGaN channel strongly depends on the growth temperature. Meanwhile, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show that the interface morphology between the InGaN channel and the barrier layer also relies on the growth temperature. Since the variation of material properties of InGaN channel has a significant influence on the electrical properties of InAlN/InGaN heterostructures, the optimal transport properties can be achieved by adjusting the growth temperature. A very high two dimension electron gas(2DEG) density of 1.92 × 1013 cm−2 and Hall electron mobility of 1025 cm2/(V⋅s) at room temperature are obtained at the optimal growth temperature around 740 °C. The excellent transport properties in our work indicate that the heterostructure with InGaN channel is a promising candidate for the microwave power devices, and the results in this paper will be instructive for further study of the InGaN channel heterostructures.

Superior transport properties of InGaN channel heterostructure with high channel electron mobility

A high-quality AlGaN/InGaN heterostructure is grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition on a sapphire substrate. A two-step AlN interlayer is adopted to improve the interface morphology and protect the high-quality InGaN channel. Temperature-dependent Hall measurement shows superior transport properties compared with the traditional GaN channel heterostructure at elevated temperatures. Further, a record highest channel electron mobility of 1681 cm2/(Vs) at room temperature for an InGaN channel heterostructure is obtained. We attribute the excellent transport properties to the improvement in the material quality, as well as the rationally designed epitaxial structure and well-controlled growth condition.

Studies on the InAlN/InGaN/InAlN/InGaN double channel heterostructures with low sheet resistance

High quality InAlN/InGaN/InAlN/InGaN double channel heterostructures were proposed and grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Benefiting from the adoption of the pulsed growth method and Two-Step AlN interlayer, the material quality and interface characteristics of the double channel heterostructures are satisfactory. The results of the temperature-dependent Hall effect measurement indicated that the transport properties of the double channel heterostructures were superior to those of the traditional single channel heterostructures in the whole test temperature range. Meanwhile, the sheet resistance of the double channel heterostructures reached 218.5 Ω/□ at 300 K, which is the record of InGaN-based heterostructures. The good transport properties of the InGaN double channel heterostructures are beneficial to improve the performance of the microwave power devices based on nitride semiconductors.

Temperature dependence of the Raman-active modes in the semipolar (11 2¯2) plane GaN Film

Temperature dependences of the polarized Raman scattering spectra in the backscattering configuration of the semipolar (11 2¯2) plane GaN thin film are analyzed in the range from 83 K to 563 K. The semipolar GaN film is cut at a tilted angle from polar GaN wafer grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. The spectral features of the frequency shift and linewidths of the Raman-active phonon modes Quasi-TO, E1 (TO), E2 (high), and Quasi-LO are prominently revealed, and the temperature coefficients corresponding to the lattice thermal expansion and phonon anharmonic effect, as well as defects and impurities in crystals, are well deduced by the theoretical equations. With the increasing temperature, the Raman scattering peaks would substantially shift to lower frequencies and the linewidths gradually broaden. Our studies will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental physical characteristics of the semipolar (11 2¯2) plane GaN film.

Concentration of point defects in 4H-SiC characterized by a magnetic measurement

A magnetic method is presented to characterize the concentration of point defects in silicon carbide. In this method, the concentration of common charged point defects, which is related to the density of paramagnetic centers, is determined by fitting the paramagnetic component of the specimen to the Brillouin function. Several parameters in the Brillouin function can be measured such as: the g-factor can be obtained from electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and the magnetic moment of paramagnetic centers can be obtained from positron lifetime spectroscopy combined with a first-principles calculation. To evaluate the characterization method, silicon carbide specimens with different concentrations of point defects are prepared with aluminum ion implantation. The fitting results of the densities of paramagnetic centers for the implanted doses of 1 × 1014 cm−2, 1 × 1015 cm−2 and 1 × 1016 cm−2 are 6.52 × 1014/g, 1.14 × 1015/g and 9.45 × 1014/g, respectively. The same trends are also observed for the S-paramet...

Fabrication of InAlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors on Sapphire Substrates by Pulsed Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Nearly lattice-matched InAlGaN/GaN heterostructure is grown on sapphire substrates by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition and excellent high electron mobility transistors are fabricated on this heterostructure. The electron mobility is 1668.08 cm2/Vs together with a high two-dimensional-electron-gas density of 1.43 × 1013 cm−2 for the InAlGaN/GaN heterostructure of 20 nm InAlGaN quaternary barrier. High electron mobility transistors with gate dimensions of 1×50 μm2 and 4 μm source-drain distance exhibit the maximum drain current of 763.91 mA/mm, the maximum extrinsic transconductance of 163.13mS/mm, and current gain and maximum oscillation cutoff frequencies of 11 GHz and 21 GHz, respectively.

Fabrication of GaN-Based Heterostructures with an InAlGaN/AlGaN Composite Barrier*

GaN-based heterostructures with an InAlGaN/AlGaN composite barrier on sapphire (0001) substrates are grown by a low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition system. Compositions of the InAlGaN layer are determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, structure and crystal quality of the heterostructures are identified by high resolution x-ray diffraction, surface morphology of the samples are examined by an atomic force microscope, and Hall effect and capacitance-voltage measurements are performed at room temperature to evaluate the electrical properties of heterostructures. The Al/In ratio of the InAlGaN layer is 4.43, which indicates that the InAlGaN quaternary layer is nearly lattice-matched to the GaN channel. Capacitance–voltage results show that there is no parasitic channel formed between the InAlGaN layer and the AlGaN layer. Compared with the InAlGaN/GaN heterostructure, the electrical properties of the InAlGaN/AlGaN/GaN heterostructure are improved obviously. Influences of the thickness of the AlGaN layer on the electrical properties of the heterostructures are studied. With the optimal thickness of the AlGaN layer to be 5 nm, the 2DEG mobility, sheet density and the sheet resistance of the sample is 1889.61 cm2/V s, 1.44 × 1013 cm−2 and as low as 201.1 ω/sq, respectively.

Superior material qualities and transport properties of InGaN channel heterostructure grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition is introduced into the growth of InGaN channel heterostructure for improving material qualities and transport properties. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging shows the phase separation free InGaN channel with smooth and abrupt interface. A very high two-dimensional electron gas density of approximately 1.85 × 1013 cm−2 is obtained due to the superior carrier confinement. In addition, the Hall mobility reaches 967 cm2/Vs, owing to the suppression of interface roughness scattering. Furthermore, temperature-dependent Hall measurement results show that InGaN channel heterostructure possesses a steady two-dimensional electron gas density over the tested temperature range, and has superior transport properties at elevated temperatures compared with the traditional GaN channel heterostructure. The gratifying results imply that InGaN channel heterostructure grown by pulsed metal organic chemical vapor deposition is a promising candidate for microwave power devices.