Correlation of in-situ reflectance spectra and resistivity of GaN/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> interfacial layer in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The correlation between the resistivity of an undoped GaN/Al₂O₃ interfacial layer and in-situ reflectance spectrum in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and the mechanism of this correlation were investigated. The first minimum reflectance during the initial high-temperature GaN growth was found to be a good indicator of the resistivity of the GaN buffer. The background electron concentration and mobility were both higher in the samples with higher indicative reflectance at that point. The resistivity of the GaN buffer layer was predominantly determined by an ∼0.25-μm-thick layer near the GaN/Al₂O₃ interface. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) results showed that the samples with higher indicative reflectance had smaller sized but higher density nuclei before the high-temperature GaN growth and lower screw threading dislocation (TD) density in the initially grown GaN. The difference in the background electron concentration and mobility of the interfacial layer was related to the relatively higher concentration of the O and Al diffused from Al₂O₃, which is also dependent on the size and density of the nuclei. These differences were found not to affect the structural and electrical properties or the surface morphology of AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs, except for the buffer conduction) when the GaN buffer is thick enough (e.g., ∼2.5 μm).     

Influence of AlN buffer layer thickness on the properties of GaN epilayer on Si(1 1 1) by MOCVD

The effect of thickness of the high-temperature (HT) AlN buffer layer on the properties of GaN grown on Si(1 1 1) has been investigated. Optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are employed to characterize these samples grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The results demonstrate that the morphology and crystalline properties of the GaN epilayer strongly depend on the thickness of HT AlN buffer layer, and the optimized thickness of the HT AlN buffer layer is about 110 nm. Together with the low-temperature (LT) AlN interlayer, high-quality GaN epilayer with low crack density can be obtained.     

Initial stages of GaN/GaAs (100) growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We have investigated the growth of GaN buffers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on GaAs (100) substrates. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) were employed to study the dependence of the nucleation on the growth temperature, growth rate, annealing effect, and growth time. A two-step growth sequence must be used to optimize and control the nucleation and the subsequent growth independently. The size and distribution of islands and the thickness of buffer layers have a crucial role on the quality of GaN layers. Based on the experimental results, a model was given to interpret the formation of hexagonal-phase GaN in the cubic-phase GaN layers. Using an optimum buffer layer, the strong near-band emission of cubic GaN with full-width at half maximum (FWHM) value as small as 5.6 nm was observed at room temperature. The background carrier concentration was estimated to be in the range of 10¹³ ∼ 10¹⁴ cm⁻³.     

The impact of nitridation and nucleation layer process conditions on morphology and electron transport in GaN epitaxial films

A systematic study has been performed to determine the characteristics of an optimized nucleation layer for GaN growth on sapphire. The films were grown during GaN process development in a vertical close-spaced showerhead metalorganic chemical vapor deposition reactor. The relationship between growth process parameters and the resultant properties of low temperature GaN nucleation layers and high temperature epitaxial GaN films is detailed. In particular, we discuss the combined influence of nitridation conditions, V/III ratio, temperature and pressure on optimized nucleation layer formation required to achieve reproducible high mobility GaN epitaxy in this reactor geometry. Atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study improvements in grain size and orientation of initial epitaxial film growth as a function of varied nitridation and nucleation layer process parameters. Improvements in film morphology and structure are directly related to Hall transport measurements of silicon-doped GaN films. Reproducible growth of silicon-doped GaN films having mobilities of 550 cm²/Vs with electron concentrations of 3 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³, and defect densities less than 10⁸ cm⁻² is reported. These represent the best reported results to date for GaN growth using a standard two-step process in this reactor geometry.     

Effects of high-temperature AIN buffer on the microstructure of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

Effects on AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor structure of a high-temperature AlN buffer on sapphire substrate have been studied by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy techniques. The buffer improves the microstructural quality of GaN epilayer and reduces approximately one order of magnitude the edge-type threading dislocation density. As expected, the buffer also leads an atomically flat surface with a low root-mean-square of 0.25 nm and a step termination density in the range of 10⁸ cm^?2. Due to the high-temperature buffer layer, no change on the strain character of the GaN and AlGaN epitaxial layers has been observed. Both epilayers exhibit compressive strain in parallel to the growth direction and tensile strain in perpendicular to the growth direction. However, an high-temperature AlN buffer layer on sapphire substrate in the HEMT structure reduces the tensile stress in the AlGaN layer.     

引入GaN过渡层对Si（111）衬底上生长GaN外延的影响

本文研究了在Si(111)衬底上生长GaN外延层的方法。相比于直接在AlN缓冲层上生长GaN外延层,引入GaN过渡层显著地提高了外延层的晶体质量并降低了外延层的裂纹密度。使用X射线双晶衍射仪、光学显微镜以及在位监测曲线分析了GaN过渡层对外延层的晶体质量以及裂纹密度的影响。实验发现,直接在AlN缓冲层上生长外延层,晶体质量较差, X射线(0002)面半高宽最优值为0.686°,引入GaN过渡层后,通过调整生长条件,控制岛的长大与合并的过程,从而控制三维生长到二维生长过渡的过程,外延层的晶体质量明显提高, (0002)面半高宽降低为0.206°,并且裂纹明显减少。研究结果证明,通过生长合适厚度的GaN过渡层,可以得到高质量、无裂纹的GaN外延层。     

MBE growth and properties of ZnO on sapphire and SiC substrates

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of ZnO on both sapphire and SiC substrates has been demonstrated. ZnO was used as a buffer layer for the epitaxial growth of GaN. ZnO is a würtzite crystal with a close lattice match (<2% mismatch) to GaN, an energy gap of 3.3 eV at room temperature, a low predicted conduction band offset to both GaN and SiC, and high electron conductivity. ZnO is relatively soft compared to the nitride semiconductors and is expected to act as a compliant buffer layer. Inductively coupled radio frequency plasma sources were used to generate active beams of nitrogen and oxygen for MBE growth. Characterization of the oxygen plasma by optical emission spectroscopy clearly indicated significant dissociation of O₂ into atomic oxygen. Reflected high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) of the ZnO growth surface showed a two-dimensional growth. ZnO layers had n-type carrier concentration of 9 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ with an electron mobility of 260 cm²/V-s. Initial I-V measurements displayed ohmic behavior across the SiC/ZnO and the ZnO/GaN heterointerfaces. RHEED of GaN growth by MBE on the ZnO buffer layers also exhibited a two-dimensional growth. We have demonstrated the viability of using ZnO as a buffer layer for the MBE growth of GaN.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In Situ</Emphasis> Stress Measurements During GaN Growth on Ion-Implanted AlN/Si Substrates

In situ wafer curvature measurements were used in combination with postgrowth structural characterization to study the evolution of film stress and microstructure in GaN layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on N⁺ ion-implanted AlN/Si (111) substrates. The results were compared with growth on identical unimplanted substrates. In situ stress measurements revealed that, for the unimplanted sample, the GaN initiated growth under compressive stress of −1.41 GPa which arose due to lattice mismatch with the AlN buffer layer. In contrast, GaN growth on the ion-implanted sample began at lower compressive stress of −0.84 GPa, suggesting a reduction in epitaxial stress. In both cases, the compressive growth stress was fully relaxed after ~0.7 μm and minimal tensile stress was generated during growth. During post-growth cooling, tensile stress was introduced in the GaN layer of both samples due to thermal expansion mismatch. Post-growth optical microscopy characterization, however, demonstrated that the ion-implanted sample had lower density of channeling cracks compared with the unimplanted sample. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images of the sample grown on ion-implanted Si with no post-implantation nitrogen annealing revealed the formation of horizontal cracks in the implanted region beneath the AlN buffer layer. The weakened layer acts to decouple the GaN film from the Si substrate and thereby reduces the density of channeling cracks in the film after growth.     

Sputtered growth of high mobility InN thin films on different substrates using Cu-ZnO buffer layer

This work reports the growth of c-plane textured InN thin films on Cu-ZnO buffered silicon, c-sapphire, bulk GaN and quartz substrates. A Cu-ZnO buffer layer was deposited on all the substrates before the growth of InN film. A highly c textured film was obtained on sapphire and quartz substrates. Structural properties were calculated using XRD and Raman analysis. It was observed that, induction of Cu-ZnO buffer layer reduced the lattice mismatch between Si/GaN substrates and InN film. The bandgap of the films was obtained using UV visible reflectance spectroscopy. Hall measurements show high mobility films in the range of 119–223 cm²/Vs and an electron concentration of 10¹⁹. These results are in good agreement with previous results but are first time recorded using RF magnetron sputtering. Surface topography of the films showed smooth surfaces, which are due to reduced lattice mismatch between film and the substrate.     

Growth of device quality GaAs by chemical beam epitaxy

The growth of high purity GaAS with excellent uniformity and very low defect density by chemical beam epitaxy using triethylgallium and arsine is described. The residual background impurity is mostly carbon. A mobility of 518 cm²/Vs with a hole density of 3.6 x 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ has been obtained for a growth temperature of 500° C. The electrical quality is further evaluated by fabricating a Si doped epilayer into MESFET device using 1 μm gate length. A transconductance of 177 mS/mm has been measured. The results indicate that chemical beam epitaxy is a very attractive growth technique for GaAs integrated circuits.     

AlGaN缓冲层结构对Si基GaN材料性能的影响

Si衬底与GaN之间较大的晶格失配和热失配引起的张应力使GaN外延层极易产生裂纹,如何补偿GaN所受到的张应力是进行Si基GaN外延生长面临的首要问题.采用金属有机化合物化学气相沉积(MOCVD)技术在4英寸(1英寸=2.54 cm)Si (111)衬底上制备了GaN外延材料并研究了不同AlGaN缓冲层结构对Si基GaN外延材料性能的影响,并采用高分辨X射线衍射仪(HRXRD)、原子力显微镜(AFM)、喇曼光谱以及光学显微镜对制备的GaN材料的性能进行了表征.采用3层A1GaN缓冲层结构制备了表面光亮、无裂纹的GaN外延材料,其(002)晶面半高宽为428 arcsec,表面粗糙度为0.194 nm.结果表明,采用3层A1GaN缓冲层结构可以有效地降低GaN材料的张应力和位错密度,进而遏制表面裂纹的出现,提高晶体质量.     

Unintentional incorporation of B, As, and O impurities in GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We have investigated systematically the effects of growth parameters upon the unintentional incorporation of B, As, and O impurities in GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy with an RF-plasma activated nitrogen source. The prepared samples were analyzed using secondary ion mass spectrometry to determine the absolute concentration of the impurities. The boron background concentration in the unintentionally doped GaN was found to strongly correlate with the nitrogen plasma power used during the growth, indicating a decomposition of the pBN crucible in the plasma source. Due to previous GaAs growth in the same chamber, a considerably large amount of As contamination (≈3×10¹⁸ at/cm³) was also observed in the grown layer. The presence of Al in GaN is found to facilitate the incorporation of oxygen impurities in the layer. We determined an empirical formula, C_o ^t/C_o ^b 3.8×(C_Al/C_Al)^0.27, representing the correlation between O concentration and Al mole fraction (%) in the small range of Al content, 0.03≈1%, in the layer. The residual oxygen level was substantially reduced from 3.4×10¹⁹ to mid-10¹⁸ at/cm³ in the GaN layer when the buffer layer structure was changed from low temperature grown GaN single buffer to GaN/AlN double buffer layer. We ascribe this significantly lowered oxygen impurity level to improved crystalline quality of the layer due to the double buffer layer structure.     

Influence of layer structure on performance of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors before and after passivation

Intentionally undoped and three different, doped layer structures are used to investigate properties of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) before and after SiN passivation. For unpassivated devices, the drain current, transconductance, cutoff frequency, and microwave output-power increase with increased doping level, in spite of an increase in the gate-leakage current. After passivation, an overall performance improvement of all devices occurs. The passivation-induced sheet charge decreases from 2×10¹² cm⁻² in undoped structures to ∼0.7×10¹² cm⁻² in higher doped structures and performance improvement with passivation is less pronounced for higher doped devices. However, the output power of unpassivated and passivated devices on higher doped structures is much higher than that on the undoped-passivated counter-part. These results underline an advantage of the doped layer structure for the preparation of high-performance AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.     

蓝宝石上横向外延GaN薄膜

在蓝宝石衬底上利用金属有机物气相外延(MOCVD)方法对横向外延(ELO)GaN薄膜的生长条件进行了研究.在蓝宝石衬底上利用化学腐蚀的方法刻饰出图案,再沉积低温GaN缓冲层作为外延层的子晶层,以降低外延层与衬底的晶格失配与热失配,制备出低位错密度的GaN外延层.分别利用X射线衍射、原子力显微镜及湿法腐蚀对外延层进行检测.     

Effects of Substrate Pretreatment Conditions on Quality of GaN Epilayer

The pure cubic GaN(c-GaN) has been grown on (001) GaAs substrates by ECR-PAMOCVD technique at low temperature using TMGa and high pure N2 as Ga and N sources,respectively.The effects of substrate pretreatment conditions on quality of cubic GaN epilayer are investigated by the measurements of TEM and XRD.It is found that hydrogen plasma cleaning,nitridation and buffer layer growth are very important for quality of cubic GaN epilayer.     

Optimization design on breakdown voltage of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor

Simulations are carried out to explore the possibility of achieving high breakdown voltage of GaN HEMT (high-electron mobility transistor). GaN cap layers with gradual increase in the doping concentration from 2×10¹⁶ to 5×10¹⁹ cm^-3 of N-type and P-type cap are investigated, respectively. Simulation results show that HEMT with P-doped GaN cap layer shows more potential to achieve higher breakdown voltage than N-doped GaN cap layer under the same doping concentration. This is because the ionized net negative space charges in P-GaN cap layer could modulate the surface electric field which makes more contribution to RESURF effect. Furthermore, a novel GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT with P-doped GaN buried layer in GaN buffer between gate and drain electrode is proposed. It shows enhanced performance. The breakdown voltage of the proposed structure is 640 V which is increased by 12% in comparison to UID (un-intentionally doped) GaN/AlGaN/GaN HEMT. We calculated and analyzed the distribution of electrons'' density. It is found that the depleted region is wider and electric field maximum value is induced at the left edge of buried layer. So the novel structure with P-doped GaN buried layer embedded in GaN buffer has the better improving characteristics of the power devices.     

FABRICATION OF STRAINED-Si CHANNEL P-MOSFET’s ON ULTRA-THIN SiGe VIRTUAL SUBSTRATES

In the ultra-thin relaxed SiGe virtual substrates, a strained-Si channel p-type Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor （p-MOSFET） is presented. Built on strained-Si/240nm relaxed-Si0.8 Ge0.2/ 100nm Low Temperature Si （LT-Si）/10nm S i buffer was grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy （MBE）, in which LT-Si layer is used to release stress of the SiGe layer and made it relaxed. Measurement indicates that the strained-Si p-MOSFET＇s （L=4.2μm） transconductance and the hole mobility are enhanced 30% and 50% respectively, compared with that of conventional bulk-Si. The maximum hole mobility for strained-Si device is 140cm^2/Vs. The device performance is comparable to devices achieved on several μm thick composition graded buffers and relaxed-SiGe layer virtual substrates.     

Characterization of very high purity InAs grown using trimethylindium and tertiarybutylarsine

The growth of high purity InAs by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is reported using tertiarybutylarsine and trimethylindiμm. Specular surfaces were obtained for bulk 5-10 μm thick InAs growth on GaAs substrates over a wide range of growth conditions by using a two-step growth method involving a low temperature nucleation layer of InAs. Structural characterization was performed using atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffractometry. The transport data are complicated by a competition between bulk conduction and conduction due to a surface accumulation layer with roughly 2–4 × 10¹² cm⁻² carriers. This is clearly demonstrated by the temperature dependent Hall data. Average Hall mobilities as high as 1.2 x 10⁵ cm²/Vs at 50K are observed in a 10 μm sample grown at 540°C. Field-dependent Hall measurements indicate that the fitted bulk mobility is much higher for this sample, approximately 1.8 × 10⁵ cm²/Vs. Samples grown on InAs substrates were measured using high resolution Fourier transform photoluminescence spectroscopy and reveal new excitonic and impurity band emissions in InAs including acceptor bound exciton “two hole transitions.” Two distinct shallow acceptor species of unknown chemical identity have been observed.     

Growth of thick gan films on rf sputtered ain buffer layer by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

High crystalline quality thick GaN films were grown by vapor phase epitaxy using GaCl₃ and NH₃. The growth rate was in the range of 10~15 Μm/h. GaN films grown at higher temperatures (960~ 1020?C) were single crystalline with smooth surface morphologies. No chlorine impurity was incorporated in these films during growth. The best crystalline quality and surface morphology of grown films was achieved by sputtering a thin A1N buffer layer, prior to growth. According to reflection high energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements, as-sputtered A1N buffer layer was amorphous with root means square roughness of 0.395 nm and then crystallized during the GaN growth. This improved the GaN growth due to more uniform distribution of GaN nucleation. Rutherford backscattering channeling experiments produced the lowest value from the GaN film grown on a-Al₂O₃ with a 500å A1N buffer layer at 1020?C.     

Deposition of GaN Layers with a lowered dislocation density by molecular-beam epitaxy

The deposition of a multilayer buffer layer that includes a high-temperature AlN layer grown at a temperature above 1100°C has made it possible to reduce the dislocation density in a GaN layer by 1.5?C2 orders of magnitude to values in the range from 9 × 10⁸ to 1 × 10⁹ cm^?2, compared with the case of growth on a thin low-temperature AlN nucleation layer. The decrease in the dislocation density causes a substantial increase in the electron mobility in the GaN layers to 600?C650 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which is in agreement with the results of calculations and is indicative of the high crystalline perfection of the layers.