Effects of chemical and plasma surface treatments on the O2-annealed Ni/Au contact to p-Gan

The effects of boiling Aqua Regia (AQ), N₂/Cl₂ plasma followed by AQ and O₂ plasma followed by AQ surface treatments prior to Ni/Au (20 nm/20 nm) metallization to p-GaN:Mg (∼ 3 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3) have been investigated. N₂/Cl₂ plasma was employed in a bid to lower the Ga/N and O/Ga ratios of the GaN surface to improve the contact properties to p-GaN, while O₂ plasma was employed as an alternative to incorporate O into the Ni/Au system. Results show that a low Ga/N ratio does not necessarily correspond to a better contact. The positive effect of O₂ over N₂ anneal is observed only for the AQ-treated sample, although the mechanisms responsible for its positive effect: NiO formation and Ni/Au layer-reversal were observed for all O₂-annealed contacts. We conclude that the effect of O₂ anneal on the Ni/Au contact is dependant on the p-GaN surface prior to metallization.     

p型氮化镓退火及发光二极管研究

对金属有机物化学气相淀积(MOCVD)技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长的p型氮化镓(p-GaN)在氮气气氛下的热退火进行研究。用Hall测试系统测量不同温度、不同时间退火后样品的电学性能;对一组蓝光LEDs分别进行不同退火温度、退火时间实验,对退火前后量子阱峰值强度半高宽和积分面积变化进行了比较研究。实验表明p-GaN在825°C、8min条件下退火可以取得较高的空穴浓度,而LED在750°C、30min退火可以使量子阱的半高宽展宽较小,积分强度降低百分比小,而且LED芯片正向电压也较小。     

PECVD沉积SiO2和SiNX对p-GaN的影响

在等离子增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD)沉积SiO2和SiNX掩蔽层过程中，分解等离子体中浓度较高的H原子使Mg-受主钝化，同时在p-GaN材料表面发生反应形成浅施主特性的N■■空位。高能量离子轰击造成的材料深能级缺陷增多以及沉积形成致密的SiO2和SiNX材料，阻碍了H原子向外扩散，使H原子在Ni/Au电极与p-GaN的界面处聚集，造成p-GaN近表面附近区域Mg-H络合物密度的提高，空穴浓度急剧下降，导致Ni/Au透明电极I-V特性严重恶化。选择较低的射频功率(15 W,13.56 MHz)沉积模式，经过适当的退火，可以减小沉积SiO2过程对p-GaN的影响。     

Surface-layer damage and responsivity in sputtered-ITO/p-GaN Schottky-barrier photodiodes

It is postulated that donor-like nitrogen vacancies, caused by the sputtering of a Schottky-barrier metal onto p-type gallium nitride, diffuse into the GaN and form a surface layer in which both the minority-carrier lifetime and mobility are drastically reduced. Such a damaged surface layer is shown to reduce the responsivity of p-GaN Schottky-barrier photodiodes, thereby offering an explanation for the responsivity values in the range of 0.03–0.04 A/W that have been measured in experimental ITO/p-GaN devices. On making allowance for the damaged surface layer, an electron diffusion length of around 300 nm can be inferred for the undamaged p-GaN region.     

Mg fluctuation in p-GaN layers and its effects on InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes dependent on p-GaN growth temperature

Correlation between material properties of bulk p-GaN layers grown on undoped GaN and device performance of InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a function of p-GaN growth temperature were investigated. The p-GaN layers of both structures grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition were heavily doped with Mg. As the growth temperature of the bulk p-GaN layer increased up to 1,080°C, N_A-N_D increased. However, above 1,110°C, N_A-N_D sharply decreased, while the fluctuation of Mg concentration ([Mg]) increased. At this time, a peculiar surface, which originated from inversion domain boundaries (IDBs), was clearly observed in the bulk p-GaN layer. The IDBs were not found in all LEDs because the p-GaN contact layer was relatively thin. The change in photoluminescence emission from the ultraviolet band to blue band is found to be associated with the fluctuation of [Mg] and IDBs in bulk p-GaN layers. The LED operating voltage and reverse voltage improved gradually up to the p-GaN contact-layer growth temperature of 1,080°C. However, the high growth temperature of 1,110°C, which could favor the formation of IDBs in the bulk p-GaN layer, yielded poorer reverse voltage and saturated output power of the LEDs.     

Ni层厚度对p-GaN/Ni/Au欧姆接触特性的影响

对p-GaN/Ni/Au欧姆接触特性与Ni金属层厚度之间的相关性进行了对比实验研究,利用XRD衍射结果与表面金相显微分析手段对Ni/Au双层金属电极在合金退火过程中的行为特性进行了细致探讨。分析结果表明:在Ni/Au电极结构中,由双层互扩散机制与NiO氧化反应机理决定,Ni层与Au层之间的厚度比率对p型GaN欧姆接触特性的优劣有重要影响,在Ni、Au层厚度相当时可获得最佳的p型欧姆接触。     

The growth of heavily Mg-doped GaN thin film on Si substrate by molecular beam epitaxy

This paper reports the growth of p-GaN by molecular beam epitaxy. During growth, reflection high electron energy diffraction displayed streaky pattern. Hall Effect measurement indicated a hole concentration of 3.90 × 10²⁰ cm^− 3. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that p-GaN has high structural quality. Photoluminescence spectrum showed that band edge emission was found at 354.1 nm, significantly shifted from usual reported value, i.e. 364 nm. The shift was attributed to Burstein-Moss effect. In addition, a broad emission peak at 387.5 nm was also observed which was due to the transition from conduction band edge to Mg acceptor level. Moreover, the presence of 657 cm^− 1 Raman peak also confirmed the heavy Mg-doped characteristic in p-GaN.     

MgO界面层对n-ZnO纳米棒/p-GaN异质结LED光电性能的影响

为了较好地实现n-ZnO的电致发光(EL),利用水热法在p-GaN外延片上制备了ZnO纳米棒阵列,构造了n-ZnO纳米棒/p-GaN异质结LED原型器件,并研究了MgO界面层对器件光电性能的影响。结果表明,n-ZnO纳米棒/p-GaN异质结器件具有明显的二极管整流效应。室温、正向偏压下,n-ZnO纳米棒/p-GaN异质结LED仅在430nm附近具有单一的发光峰,而n-ZnO纳米棒/MgO/p-GaN异质结LED的电致发光光谱由一个从近紫外到蓝绿光区的宽发光带组成。结合光致发光(PL)谱和Anderson能带模型,深入分析了n-ZnO纳米棒/p-GaN异质结的载流子复合机制。     

P 型氮化镓层生长压力对InGaN/GaN基发光二极管性能的影响

The advantages of In Ga N/Ga N light emitting diodes(LEDs) with p-Ga N grown under high pressures are studied.It is shown that the high growth pressure could lead to better electronic properties of p-Ga N layers due to the eliminated compensation effect.The contact resistivity of p-Ga N layers are decreased due to the reduced donor-like defects on the p-Ga N surface.The leakage current is also reduced,which may be induced by the better filling of V-defects with p-Ga N layers grown under high pressures.The LED efficiency thus could be enhanced with high pressure grown p-Ga N layers.     

掺杂GaN的湿法刻蚀研究

对掺杂GaN的湿法刻蚀研究进行了总结,回顾了不同的湿法刻蚀技术,包括传统的酸碱化学刻蚀和电化学刻蚀。从掺杂GaN的生长过程、表面化学组分和光电性质出发,深入地分析了湿法刻蚀的特性,对比了不同刻蚀方法的原理和效果。考虑到p-GaN的表面氧化层比较厚,接触电阻较大,能带向下弯曲不能进行光增强湿法刻蚀,重点阐述了p-GaN的传统湿法刻蚀和n-GaN的紫外光增强湿法刻蚀技术。与传统化学刻蚀相比,光增强湿法刻蚀具有更为广阔的前景。结合GaN基半导体器件的制作,对湿法刻蚀的主要应用进行了较为详细的归纳。目前,湿法刻蚀和干法刻蚀可以有效结合。将来湿法刻蚀有希望代替干法刻蚀。