Nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni/Au contacts on p-type GaN for low contact resistance and high reflectivity

We synthesized the vertical-structured LED (VLED) using nano-scaled Pt between p-type GaN and Ag-based reflector. The metallization scheme on p-type GaN for high reflectance and low was the nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni/Au. Nano-scaled Pt (5 A) on Ag/Ni/Au exhibited reasonably high reflectance of 86.2% at the wavelength of 460 nm due to high transmittance of light through nano-scaled Pt (5 A) onto Ag layer. Ohmic behavior of contact metal, Pt/Ag/Ni/Au, to p-type GaN was achieved using surface treatments of p-type GaN prior to the deposition of contact metals and the specific contact resistance was observed with decreasing Pt thickness of 5 A, resulting in 1.5 x 10(-4) ohms cm2. Forward voltages of Pt (5 A)/Ag/Ni contact to p-type GaN showed 4.19 V with the current injection of 350 mA. Output voltages with various thickness of Pt showed the highest value at the smallest thickness of Pt due to its high transmittance of light onto Ag, leading to high reflectance. Our results propose that nano-scaled Pt/Ag/Ni could act as a promising contact metal to p-type GaN for improving the performance of VLEDs.     

Improvements of transparent electrode materials for GaN metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors

Metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetectors based on GaN grown on (0 0 0 1) sapphire were fabricated and characterized. The responsivity of the Pt/GaN MSM device is low due to the blocking of incoming light by Pt electrodes. Although this problem can be partly solved by the transparent indium–tin oxide (ITO) contact, the range of operation voltage for ITO/GaN MSM devices is limited by the internal gain. Transparent multilayered electrode is proposed in this work by incorporating various intermediate layers (Ti, TiO₂, and Ti/TiO₂). The dark current of the ITO/TiO₂/GaN contact is two orders of magnitude lower than that of the ITO/Ti/GaN contact. The thin TiO₂ barrier also contributes the lower responsivity of the ITO/TiO₂/GaN structure. By introducing a thin Ti/TiO₂ interlayer at the ITO–GaN interface, a significant decrease in the dark current and an increase in responsivity can be achieved simultaneously. The photo-to-dark current contrast can reach 6×l0⁵, and the responsivity shows no discernible internal gain under a bias between 2.5 and 7.5 V.     

Low temperature synthesis of GaN films on ITO substrates by ECR-PEMOCVD

GaN films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates at various deposition temperatures using an electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (ECR-PEMOCVD). The TMGa and N₂ are applied as precursors of Ga and N, respectively. The crystalline quality and photoluminescence properties of as-grown GaN films are systematically investigated as a function of deposition temperature by means of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and room temperature photoluminescence (PL). The results show that the dense and uniformed GaN films with highly c-axis preferred orientation are successfully achieved on ITO glass substrates under optimized deposition temperature of 430 °C, and the room temperature PL spectra of the optimized GaN film show an intense near-band-edge luminescence located at 360 nm. The obtained GaN/ITO/glass structure was especially attractive for transparent optoelectronics applications with inexpensive ITO/glass substrate.     

GaN metal-semiconductor-metal ultraviolet sensors with various contact electrodes

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO), Au, Ni, and Pt layers were deposited onto n-GaN films and/or glass substrates by electron-beam evaporation. With proper annealing, it was found that we could improve the optical properties of the ITO layers and achieve a maximum transmittance of 98% at 360 nm. GaN-based MSM UV sensors with ITO, Au, Ni, and Pt as contact electrodes were also fabricated. It was found that we could achieve a maximum 0.12 A photocurrent and a photocurrent to dark current contrast higher than five orders of magnitude for the 600/spl deg/C-annealed ITO/n-GaN MSM UV sensor at a 5-V bias voltage. We also found that the maximum responsivity at 345 nm was 7.2 A/W and 0.9 A/W when the 600/spl deg/C-annealed ITO/n-GaN MSM UV sensor was biased at 5 V and 0.5 V, respectively. These values were much larger than those observed from other metal/n-GaN MSM UV sensors. However, the existence of photoconductive gain in the 600/spl deg/C-annealed ITO/n-GaN MSM UV sensor also results in a slower operation speed and a smaller 3-dB bandwidth as compared with the metal/n-GaN MSM UV sensors.     

Fabrication and Properties of DC Magnetron Sputtered Indium Tin Oxide on Flexible Plastic Substrate

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates at low temperature by DC magnetron sputtering from an In-Sn (90-10 wt pct) alloy target were studied. The correla-tion between deposition conditions and ITO property was systematically investigated and characterized. These as-deposited ITO films were used as the anode contact for flexible organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs). The fabricated FOLEDs with a structure of PET/ITO/NPB (50 nm)/Alq (20 nm)/Mg:Ag (100 nm) showed a maximum luminance of 2125 cd/m2 at 13 V.     

Translucent Photodetector with Blended Nanowires–Metal Oxide Transparent Selective Electrode Utilizing Photovoltaic and Pyro‐Phototronic Coupling Effect

ZnO is a potential candidate for photodetection utilizing the pyroelectric effect. Here, a self‐biased and translucent photodetector with the configuration of Cu₄O₃/ZnO/FTO/Glass is designed and fabricated. In addition, the pyroelectric effect is effectively harvested using indium tin oxide (ITO), silver nanowires (AgNWs), and a blend of AgNWs‐coated ITO as the transparent selective contact electrode. The improved rise times are observed from 1400 µs (bare condition; without the selective electrode) to 69, 60, 7 µs, and fall times from 720 µs (bare condition) to 80, 70, 10 µs for corresponding ITO, AgNWs, and AgNWs‐coated ITO contact electrodes, respectively. Similarly, the responsivity and detectivity are enhanced by about 4.39 × 10⁷ and 5.27 × 10⁵%, respectively. An energy band diagram is proposed to explain the underlying working mechanism based on the workfunction of the ITO (4.7 eV) and AgNWs (4.57 eV) as measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy, which confirms the formation of type‐II band alignment resulting in the efficient transport of photogenerated charge carriers. The functional use of the transparent selective contact electrode can effectively harness the pyro‐phototronic effect for next‐generation transparent and flexible optoelectronic applications.     

Transparent conductive film having sandwich structure of gallium-indium-oxide/silver/gallium-indium-oxide

New transparent conductive films having the sandwich structure of gallium-indium-oxide/silver/gallium-indium-oxide (GIO/Ag/GIO) were prepared by conventional magnetron sputtering method at ambient substrate temperature. The electrical and optical properties of the films were compared with those of conventional indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films and ITO/Ag/ITO sandwich films. The GIO/Ag/GIO (40 nm/8 nm/40 nm) sandwich films, in which the GIO film was deposited using a GIO ceramic target with In content [In/(Ga + In)] of 10 at.%, exhibited a low sheet resistance of 11.3 Ω/sq and a large average transmittance of over 92.9% in the visible region (400-800 nm). This GIO/Ag/GIO films also exhibited a novel characteristic of transparency in the ultraviolet region; they showed high transmittance of 82.2% at the wavelength of 330 nm and 40.8% at the wavelength of 280 nm, which was not shown in the ITO films and the ITO/Ag/ITO sandwich films. The GIO/Ag/GIO sandwich films are useful as transparent electrode for emitting devices of ultraviolet radiation because of both their high conductivity and high transparency in the ultraviolet region.     

Low-resistance and highly transparent Ag/IZO ohmic contact to p-type GaN

The electrical, structural, and optical characteristics of Ag/ZnO-doped In₂O₃ (IZO) ohmic contacts to p-type GaN:Mg (2.5 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3) were investigated. The Ag and IZO (10 nm/50 nm) layers were prepared by thermal evaporation and linear facing target sputtering, respectively. Although the as-deposited and 400 °C annealed samples showed rectifying behavior, the 500 and 600 °C annealed samples showed linear I-V characteristics indicative of the formation of an ohmic contact. The annealing of the contact at 600 °C for 3 min in a vacuum (~ 10^− 3 Torr) resulted in the lowest specific contact resistivity of 1.8 × 10^− 4 Ω·cm² and high transparency of 78% at a wavelength of 470 nm. Using Auger electron spectroscopy, depth profiling and synchrotron X-ray scattering analysis, we suggested a possible mechanism to explain the annealing dependence of the electrical properties of the Ag/IZO contacts.     

Microstructure evolution and development of annealed Ni/Au contacts to GaN nanowires

The development of Ni/Au contacts to Mg-doped GaN nanowires (NWs) is examined. Unlike Ni/Au contacts to planar GaN, current-voltage (I-V) measurements of Mg-doped nanowire devices frequently exhibit a strong degradation after annealing in N(2)/O(2). This degradation originates from the poor wetting behavior of Ni and Au on SiO(2) and the excessive void formation that occurs at the metal/NW and metal/oxide interfaces. The void formation can cause cracking and delamination of the metal film as well as reduce the contact area at the metal/NW interface, which increases the resistance. The morphology and composition of the annealed Ni/Au contacts on SiO(2) and the p-GaN films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Adhesion experiments were performed in order to determine the degree of adhesion of the Ni/Au films to the SiO(2) as well as observe and analyze the morphology of the film's underside by SEM. Device degradation from annealing was prevented through the use of a specific adhesion layer of Ti/Al/Ni deposited prior to the nanowire dispersal and Ni/Au deposition. I-V measurements of NW devices fabricated using this adhesion layer showed a decrease in resistance after annealing, whereas all others showed an increase in resistance. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on a cross-section of a NW with Ni/Au contacts and a Ti/Al/Ni adhesion layer showed a lack of void formation at the contact/NW interface. Results of the XRD and TEM analysis of the NW contact structure using a Ti/Al/Ni adhesion layer suggests Al alloying of the Ni/Au contact increases the adhesion and stability of the metal film as well as prevents excessive void formation at the contact/NW interface.     

Disordered antireflective subwavelength structures using Ag nanoparticles for GaN-based optical device applications

This study reports disordered antireflective subwavelength structures (SWS) on GaN and indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces fabricated using thermally dewetted Ag nanoparticles. It is shown that the average diameter of Ag nanoparticles, which determines the optical characteristics, can be simply controlled by changing the thickness of the Ag thin film and the annealing temperature. The fabricated GaN and ITO SWS with tapered profile exhibited very low reflectance compared to that of a flat surface over a wide wavelength range.     

Structural, electrical and optical properties of ITO films with a thin TiO2 seed layer prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on TiO₂-coated glass substrates (the TiO₂ layer is usually called seed layer). The properties of ITO films prepared at a substrate temperature of 300 °C on bare and TiO₂-coated glass substrates have been analyzed by using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope, optical and electrical measurements. Comparing with single layer ITO film, the ITO film with a TiO₂ seed layer of 2 nm has a remarkable 41.2% decrease in resistivity and similar optical transmittance. The glass/TiO₂ (2 nm)/ITO film achieved shows a resistivity of 3.37 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and an average transmittance of 93.1% in the visible range. The glass/TiO₂ may be a better substrate compared with bare glass for depositing high quality ITO films.     

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.     

Investigation of low resistance transparent MoO3/Ag/MoO3 multilayer and application as anode in organic solar cells

Depending on the resistivity and transmittance, transparent conductive oxides (TCO) are widely used in thin film optoelectronic devices. Thus doped In₂O₃ (ITO), ZnO, SnO₂ are commercially developed. However, the deposition process of these films need sputtering and/or heating cycle, which has negative effect on the performances of the organic devices due to the sputtering and heat damages. Therefore a thermally evaporable, low resistance, transparent electrode, deposited onto substrates room temperature, has to be developed to overcome these difficulties. For these reasons combination of dielectric materials and metal multilayer has been proposed to achieve high transparent conductive oxides. In this work the different structures probed were: MoO₃ (45 nm)/Ag (x nm)/MoO₃ (37.5 nm), with x = 5-15 nm. The measure of the electrical conductivity of the structures shows that there is a threshold value of the silver thickness: below 10 nm the films are semiconductor, from 10 nm and above the films are conductor. However, the transmittance of the structures decreases with the silver thickness, therefore the optimum Ag thickness is 10 nm. A structure MoO₃ (45 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/MoO₃ (37.5 nm) resulted with a resistivity of 8 × 10^− 5 Ω cm and a transmittance, at around 600 nm, of 80%. Such multilayer structure can be used as anode in organic solar cells according to the device anode/CuPc/C₆₀/Alq₃/Al. We have already shown that when the anode of the cells is an ITO film the introduction of a thin (3 nm) MoO₃ layer at the interface anode (ITO)/organic electron donor (CuPc) allows reducing the energy barrier due to the difference between the work function of ITO and the highest occupied molecular orbital of CuPc [1]. This property has been used in the present work to achieve a high hole transfer efficiency between the CuPc and the anode. For comparison MoO₃/Ag/MoO₃/CuPc/C₆₀/Alq₃/Al and ITO/MoO₃/CuPc/C₆₀/Alq3/Al solar cells have been deposited in the same run. These devices exhibit efficiency of the same order of magnitude.     

Degradation of ITO/PET films in humid and contaminative environments studied by TEM

The structural degradation of indium tin oxide (ITO)/PET films in humid and contaminative environments was investigated in relation to the contact resistance of the ITO films. The cross-sectional microstructures of ITO/PET films were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using the ultramicrotomy technique for specimen preparation. The ITO/PET films, which were held at 60 °C and in relative humidity of 90% for 55 days after installation in a touch panel device, experienced a sharp increase of the contact resistance. The increase of the contact resistance is attributable to the new compounds protruded from the ITO surface. The new compounds are composed of Cl and S evaporated from the Ag pastes and dot photo-resist as well as C, K, O and Ca originated from the hard coating layer between ITO and PET films. A large amount of Cl and S in the Ag pastes and dot photo-resist used for the fabrication of the touch panels promotes the degradation of ITO/PET films in humid environments. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

GaN-UV photodetector integrated with asymmetric metal semiconductor metal structure for enhanced responsivity

Fabrication of very thin GaN ultraviolet photodetectors on Si (111) substrate integrated with asymmetric (Pt–Ag, Pt–Cr) metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) structure have been illustrated. Designed GaN photodetection device displays significant enhancement in responsivity for asymmetric (Pt–Ag) MSM structure (280 mA/W) in comparison to symmetric (Pt–Pt) MSM structure (126 mA/W) at 10 V bias. The fabricated asymmetric and symmetric devices also exhibit fast response time in the range of 30–59 ms. The enhancement in responsivity using asymmetric MSM structure ascribed to large difference in work function which lead to change in Schottky barrier height of the metal semiconductor junction. Additionally, power dependent photoresponse analysis of GaN asymmetric (Pt–Ag) ultraviolet photodetector was showing a responsivity of 116 mA/W at low optical power of 1 mW. Such GaN asymmetric MSM ultraviolet photodetectors having high responsivity can extensively be used for low power, high speed ultraviolet photo detection applications.     

Low-noise solar-blind photodetectors based on LaAlO3 single crystal with transparent indium-tin-oxide electrode as detection window

The low-noise solar-blind photodetectors of indium-tin-oxide/LaAlO(3)/Ag (ITO/LAO/Ag) have been fabricated based on the properties of LAO bandgap excitation and the transparent conductance of ITO thin film. The ITO thin films are epitaxially grown on LAO wafers as the electrodes and detection windows of the photodetectors. The photodetectors have low noise and excellent electromagnetic shielding. The influence of the thickness of ITO thin films on the responsivity of the photodetectors has been studied. The photocurrent responsivity can reach 10.3 mA/W under the irradiation of 200-220 nm for a photodetector with 5 nm thick ITO film. The noise current is 1 pA order magnitude under the sunlight at midday. The experiment results suggest that ITO/LAO/Ag is one of the promising structures for the solar-blind deep-ultraviolet photodetectors.     

Deposition and characteristics of GaN films on Ni metal substrate by ECR-PEMOCVD

Gallium nitride (GaN) films were deposited on Ni metal substrate using electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition system. With this approach, highly c-oriented GaN films with smooth surface were obtained at an extremely low temperature of ~480 °C. The trimethyl gallium (TMGa) flux dependent structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of GaN films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence analysis. The results indicate that it is feasible to deposit GaN films on Ni metal substrate under the proper deposition procedures. The high quality GaN films with high c-axis orientation and strong ultraviolet emission peak are successfully achieved under the optimized TMGa flux of 1.2 sccm. The GaN/Ni structure has great potential for the development of high power devices with excellent heat dissipation.     

Improvement of the field emission of carbon nanotubes-metal nanocomposite

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) decorated with Ni and Ag performed by electroless plating, and the effect of Ni and Ag nanoparticles and coating distribution on field emission of CNT are studied. The chemical composition, microstructure of CNT/Ni and CNT/Ag nanocomposites are characterized by an energy dispersion X-ray spectroscope (EDS), a transmission electron microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The field emission properties of CNT/Ni and CNT/Ag cathodes are measured using a diode structure under a pressure of 10^?5 Pa. The experimental results show that fine and well-dispersed metallic nanoparticles and discontinuous coating of Ni and Ag on the CNT surface can be obtained by electroless plating. Moreover, the enhanced field emission properties of CNT decorated with Ni and Ag can be obtained by lowering the work function of emitters and reducing the contact resistance between cathode and substrate. The field enhancement factors as high as 24264 of CNT/Ni and 25565 of CNT/Ag emitters can be improved by the distributed nano-sized Ni and Ag formed on the CNT surface.     

Effect of BAg1 Ni-Electroplating on microstructure and properties of WC-Co-brazed joints

Excellent strength, joining effectiveness and low cost of brazing make it one of the most favoured methods for hard metals attachments. In this study, WC-Co, as a hard metal, was furnace-brazed by BAg1 (Ag–Cu–Zn–Cd) filler alloy and Ni-electroplated BAg1, and the influence of Ni-electroplating in joint properties was thoroughly studied. The brazing process was carried out using a tube furnace, at 670°C/15?min. The characteristics and microstructure of joints were studied by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectrometer and XRD. It was revealed that Ni coating of BAg1 represents 20% increase in wettability and approximately 15% increase in shear strength (from 107.98 to 124.17?MPa) by the formation of soft and semi-active NiZn phase and by the substitution of some of brittle TiC phase with NiTi phase.     

Improved electrical and optical properties of ITO/Ag/ITO films by using electron beam irradiation and their application to ultraviolet light-emitting diode as highly transparent p-type electrodes

We have investigated the effect of insertion of a Ag layer in ITO film as well as electron beam irradiation to the multilayer films on the electrical and optical properties of the ITO-based multilayer deposited by magnetron sputtering method at room temperature. Inserting a very thin Ag layer between ITO layers resulted in a significant decrease in sheet resistance and increased the optical band gap of the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer to 4.35 eV, followed by a high transparency of approximately 80% at a wavelength of 375 nm. We have also fabricated ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LED) by using the ITO/Ag/ITO p-type electrode with/without electron beam irradiation. The results show that the UV-LEDs having ITO/Ag/ITO p-electrode with electron beam irradiation produced 19% higher optical output power due to the low absorption of light in the p-type electrode.