Yevgeniy Puzyrev

Probing charge scattering mechanisms in suspended graphene by varying its dielectric environment

Graphene with high carrier mobility μ is required both for graphene-based electronic devices and for the investigation of the fundamental properties of Dirac fermions. An attractive approach to increase the mobility is to place graphene in an environment with high static dielectric constant κ that would screen the electric field due to the charged impurities present near graphenes surface. Here we investigate the effect of the dielectric environment of graphene and study electrical transport in multi-terminal graphene devices suspended in liquids with κ ranging from 1.9 to 33. For non-polar liquids (κ<5), we observe a rapid increase of μ(κ), with room-temperature mobility reaching ~60,000 cm(2) Vs(-1) for devices in anisole (κ = 4.3). We associate this trend with dielectric screening of charged impurities adsorbed on graphene. We observe much lower mobility μ~20,000 cm(2) Vs(-1) for devices in polar liquids (κ ≥ 18) and explain it by additional scattering caused by ions present in such liquids.

Dehydrogenation of defects and hot-electron degradation in GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

Degradation mechanisms limiting the electrical reliability of GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are generally attributed to defect generation by hot-electrons but specific mechanisms for such processes have not been identified. Here we give a model for the generation of active defects by the release of hydrogen atoms that passivate pre-exisiting defects. We report first-principles density-functional calculations of several candidate point defects and their interaction with hydrogen in GaN, under different growth conditions. Candidate precursor point defects in device quality GaN are identified by correlating previously observed trap levels with calculated optical levels. We propose dehydrogenation of point defects as a generic physical mechanism for defect generation in HEMTs under hot-electron stress when the degradation is not spontaneously reversible. Dehydrogenation of point defects explains (1) observed hot electron stress transconductance degradation, (2) increase in yellow luminescence...

The Effect of Intrinsic Crumpling on the Mechanics of Free-Standing Graphene

Free-standing graphene is inherently crumpled in the out-of-plane direction due to dynamic flexural phonons and static wrinkling. We explore the consequences of this crumpling on the effective mechanical constants of graphene. We develop a sensitive experimental approach to probe stretching of graphene membranes under low applied stress at cryogenic to room temperatures. We find that the in-plane stiffness of graphene is 20–100 N m−1 at room temperature, much smaller than 340 N m−1 (the value expected for flat graphene). Moreover, while the in-plane stiffness only increases moderately when the devices are cooled down to 10 K, it approaches 300 N m−1 when the aspect ratio of graphene membranes is increased. These results indicate that softening of graphene at temperatures <400 K is caused by static wrinkling, with only a small contribution due to flexural phonons. Together, these results explain the large variation in reported mechanical constants of graphene devices and pave the way towards controlling their mechanical properties.

Process Dependence of Proton-Induced Degradation in GaN HEMTs

The 1.8-MeV proton radiation responses are compared for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown under Ga-rich, N-rich, and NH3-rich conditions. The NH3-rich devices are more susceptible to proton irradiation than the Ga-rich and N-rich devices. The 1/ f noise of the devices increases with increasing fluence. Density functional theory calculations show that N vacancies and Ga-N divacancies lead to enhanced noise in these devices.

Proton-Induced Dehydrogenation of Defects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

The responses to 1.8 MeV proton irradiation of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs grown under Ga-rich and ammonia-rich conditions are investigated in this work. Changes in defect energy distributions of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs during proton irradiation are characterized via temperature-dependent low-frequency noise measurements. Density functional theory calculations show these changes are consistent with the reconfiguration and/or dehydrogenation of oxygen-related defects in Ga-rich devices.

Electrical-stress-induced degradation in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown under gallium-rich, nitrogen-rich, and ammonia-rich conditions

We have evaluated the long-term electrical reliability of GaN/AlGaN high-electron-mobility transistors grown under Ga-rich, N-rich, and NH3-rich conditions. Vpinch-off shifts positively after stress for devices grown under Ga-rich and N-rich conditions, while it shifts negatively for NH3-rich devices. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the hot-electron-induced release of hydrogen from hydrogenated Ga-vacancies is primarily responsible for the degradation of devices grown in Ga-rich and N-rich conditions, while hydrogenated N-antisites are the dominant defects causing degradation in devices grown under NH3-rich conditions.

Radiation-Induced Defect Evolution and Electrical Degradation of AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors

Threshold-voltage shifts and increases in 1/f noise are observed in proton-irradiated AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors, indicating defect-mediated device degradation. Quantum mechanical calculations demonstrate that low-energy recoils caused by particle interactions with defect complexes are more likely to occur than atomic displacements in a defect-free region of the crystal. We identify the responsible defects and their precursors in the defect-mediated displacement mechanism. The electronic properties of these defects are consistent with the increases in threshold voltage and 1/f noise in proton irradiation experiments.

Theory of hot-carrier-induced phenomena in GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

It has long been known that GaN high-electron-mobility transistors can degrade significantly under hot electron stress. More recently, an increase in the yellow luminescence was observed under similar stress conditions. The two phenomena have been attributed to defects but no specific physical mechanism has been proposed. Here we report first-principles density-functional calculations of hydrogenated Ga vacancies and show that hydrogen release by hot electrons provides an explanation for both phenomena.

Excess carbon in silicon carbide

The application of SiC in electronic devices is currently hindered by low carrier mobility at the SiC/SiO2 interfaces. Recently, it was reported that 4H–SiC/SiO2 interfaces might have a transition layer on the SiC substrate side with C/Si ratio as high as 1.2, suggesting that carbon is injected into the SiC substrate during oxidation or other processing steps. We report finite-temperature quantum molecular dynamics simulations that explore the behavior of excess carbon in SiC. For SiC with 20% excess carbon, we find that, over short time (∼24 ps), carbon atoms bond to each other and form various complexes, while the silicon lattice is largely unperturbed. These results, however, suggest that at macroscopic times scale, C segregation is likely to occur; therefore a transition layer with 20% extra carbon would not be stable. For a dilute distribution of excess carbon, we explore the pairing of carbon interstitials and show that the formation of dicarbon interstitial cluster is kinetically very favorable, wh...

Gate Bias Dependence of Defect-Mediated Hot-Carrier Degradation in GaN HEMTs

Monte Carlo analysis of hot-electron degradation in AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors shows that, for gate voltages corresponding to semi-ON bias conditions, the average electron energy has a spatial peak with (EAVE) ~ 1.5 eV. The peak is located at the edge of the gate. At this location, the carrier versus energy distribution has a large tail extending over 3 eV. When transferred to the lattice, this energy can cause defect dehydrogenation and device degradation. These results are consistent with the experimental data indicating maximum degradation in the semi-ON bias condition.