Characterization of ALD Beryllium Oxide as a Potential High-k Gate Dielectric for Low-Leakage AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMTs

The chemical and electrical characteristics of atomic layer deposited (ALD) beryllium oxide (BeO) on GaN were studied via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, current–voltage, and capacitance–voltage measurements and compared with those of ALD Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ on GaN. Radiofrequency (RF) and power electronics based on AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors are maturing rapidly, but leakage current reduction and interface defect (D _it) minimization remain heavily researched. BeO has received recent attention as a high-k gate dielectric due to its large band gap (10.6 eV) and thermal stability on InGaAs and Si, but little is known about its performance on GaN. Unintentionally doped GaN was cleaned in dilute aqueous HCl immediately prior to BeO deposition (using diethylberyllium and H₂O precursors). Formation of an interfacial layer was observed in as-deposited samples, similar to the layer formed during ALD HfO₂ deposition on GaN. Postdeposition anneal (PDA) at 700°C and 900°C had little effect on the observed BeO binding state, confirming the strength of the bond, but led to increased Ga oxide formation, indicating the presence of unincorporated oxygen in the dielectric. Despite the interfacial layer, gate leakage current of 1.1 × 10^?7 A/cm² was realized, confirming the potential of ALD BeO for use in low-leakage AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors.     

Modeling on oxide dependent 2DEG sheet charge density and threshold voltage in AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMT

We have developed a physics based analytical model for the calculation of threshold voltage, two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density and surface potential for AlGaN/GaN metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOSHEMT). The developed model includes important parameters like polarization charge density at oxide/AlGaN and AlGaN/GaN interfaces, interfacial defect oxide charges and donor charges at the surface of the AlGaN barrier. The effects of two different gate oxides (Al₂O₃ and HfO₂) are compared for the performance evaluation of the proposed MOSHEMT. The MOSHEMTs with Al₂O₃ dielectric have an advantage of significant increase in 2DEG up to 1.2×10¹³ cm^-2 with an increase in oxide thickness up to 10 nm as compared to HfO₂ dielectric MOSHEMT. The surface potential for HfO₂ based device decreases from 2 to -1.6 eV within 10 nm of oxide thickness whereas for the Al₂O₃ based device a sharp transition of surface potential occurs from 2.8 to -8.3 eV. The variation in oxide thickness and gate metal work function of the proposed MOSHEMT shifts the threshold voltage from negative to positive realizing the enhanced mode operation. Further to validate the model, the device is simulated in Silvaco Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) showing good agreement with the proposed model results. The accuracy of the developed calculations of the proposed model can be used to develop a complete physics based 2DEG sheet charge density and threshold voltage model for GaN MOSHEMT devices for performance analysis.     

Valence band discontinuity of the (0001) 2H-GaN / (111) 3C-SiC interface

X-ray and UV photoelectron spectroscopies were used to measure the valence band discontinuity at the interface between (0001) 2H-GaN films and 3C-SiC (111) substrates. For GaN films grown by NH₃ gas source molecular beam epitaxy on (1×1) 3C-SiC on-axis surfaces, a type I band alignment was observed with a valence band discontinuity of 0.5±0.1 eV. A type I band alignment was also determined for GaN films grown on (3×3) 3C-SiC, but with a larger valence band discontinuity of 0.8±0.1 eV.     

Optimization and performance of Al2O3/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor structures

We investigate electrical properties of Ni/Al₂O₃/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structures having different pre-treatment of GaN surface by O₂, Ar and NH₃, combined with various temperature of annealing. MOS and reference Ni/GaN Schottky contact are characterized using current–voltage and capacitance–voltage methods. MOS structures compared with the Schottky contact ones show leakage current reduction for all types of processing, from 3 to 5 orders of magnitude in reverse direct. We observed substantial influence of the pre-treatment on electrical parameters of MOS structures.     

Mechanism investigation of NiO<Subscript>x</Subscript> in Au/Ni/p-type GaN ohmic contacts annealed in air

Recently, Au/Ni/p-type GaN ohmic contacts annealed in an air ambient have been widely investigated. However, to obtain a low specific-contact resistance, the annealing window is limited. In this study, to understand the oxidation function of metallic Ni, the Au/Ni/p-type GaN structure was annealed in an air ambient for 10 min at various temperatures. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, the metallic Ni was oxidized into NiO and NiO_1.3 compositions at annealing temperatures of 500°C and 600°C, respectively. However, metallic Ni still existed on the interface of the Ni/p-type GaN annealed at 400°C. The associated barrier heights of 0.42 eV, 0.21 eV, and 0.31 eV were obtained with p-type GaN for the Ni, NiO, and NiO_1.3 contacts, respectively. The hole concentrations of p-type NiO and p-type NiO_1.3 were 2.6×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and 2.0×10¹⁸ cm⁻³, respectively. The lower hole concentration of the p-type NiO would lead to reducing the valence-band bending of the p-type GaN, as well as the barrier height for holes crossing from the p-type NiO to the p-type GaN. The formation of NiO was thus an important issue for lowering the specific-contact resistance of the Au/Ni/p-type GaN ohmic contacts annealed in an air ambient.     

Flat band voltage modulation of AlGaN/GaN MOS capacitor with stacked Al2O3/La2O3 high dielectric structures

AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor structures using atomic layer deposited high-dielectric-constant (High-k) Al₂O₃/La₂O₃ bilayer films as dielectric have been investigated using high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurement. The stable thickness and uniform surface morphology of the bilayer films with different La/Al deposition cycle ratio (La/Al ratio) were observed after rapid thermal annealing by spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy, respectively. We have found that with a decrease of the La/Al ratio, the dipole layer observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at Al₂O₃/La₂O₃ interfaces is close to the surface of semiconductor and the flat band voltage shifts to the negative direction. Furthermore, the dramatic drop in dielectric constant of the films as La/Al ratio decrease was caused by the formation of La(OH)₃ in La₂O₃. Finally, the reason for the flat band voltage shifts, which is based on the dielectric constant of Al₂O₃ and La₂O₃ comprising the position of dipole layer in the dielectric films, is proposed.     

Comparative study of AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors with Al2O3 and HfO2 gate oxide

AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs) with Al₂O₃ gate oxide which was deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were fabricated and their performance was then compared with that of AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs with HfO₂ gate oxide. The capacitance (C)-voltage (V) curve of the Al₂O₃/GaN MOS diodes showed a lower hysteresis and lower interface state density than the C-V curve of the HfO₂/GaN diodes, indicating better quality of the Al₂O₃/GaN interface. The saturation of drain current in the I_D-V_GS relation of the Al₂O₃ AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs was not as pronounced as that of the HfO₂ AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs. The gate leakage current of the Al₂O₃ MOSHFET was five to eight orders of magnitude smaller than that of the HfO₂ MOSHFETs.     

Effect of Proton Irradiation on Interface State Density in Sc<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/GaN and Sc<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/MgO/GaN Diodes

Proton irradiation of Sc₂O₃/GaN and Sc₂O₃/MgO/GaN metal-oxide semiconductor diodes was performed at two energies, 10 MeV and 40 MeV, and total fluences of 5 × 10⁹ cm⁻², corresponding to 10 years in low-earth orbit. The proton damage causes a decrease in forward breakdown voltage and a flat-band voltage shift in the capacitance-voltage characteristics, indicating a change in fixed oxide charge and damage to the dielectric. The interface state densities after irradiation increased from 5.9 × 10¹¹ cm⁻² to 1.03 × 10¹² cm⁻² in Sc₂O₃/GaN diodes and from 2.33 × 10¹¹ to 5.3 × 10¹¹ cm⁻² in Sc₂O₃/MgO/GaN diodes. Postannealing at 400°C in forming gas recovered most of the original characteristics but did increase the interfacial roughness.     

Electrical properties of MOS capacitors formed by PEALD grown Al2O3 on silicon

In the present work, we have grown 2.83 nm thin Al₂O₃ films directly on pre-cleaned p-Si (100) substrate using precursor Trimethyl Aluminium (TMA) with substrate temperature of 300°C in a Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PEALD) chamber. The MOS capacitors were fabricated by depositing Pt/Ti metal bilayer through shadow mask on Al₂O₃ high-k by electron beam evaporation system. The MOS devices were characterized to evaluate the electrical properties using a capacitance voltage (CV) set-up. The dielectric constant calculated through the CV analysis is 8.32 for Al₂O₃ resulting in the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 1.32 nm. The flat-band shift of 0.3 V is observed in the CV curve. This slight positive shift in flat-band voltage is due to the presence of some negative trap charges in Pt/Ti/ALD-Al₂O₃/p-Si MOS capacitor. The low leakage current density of 3.08 × 10^?10 A/cm² is observed in the JV curve at 1 V. The Si/Al₂O₃ barrier height Φ _B and the value of J _FN are calculated to be 2.78 eV and 3.4 × 10^?5 A/cm² respectively.     

Highly transparent conductive films of thermally evaporated In2O3

Highly transparent (over 90% transmission in the visible range) and highly conductive (resistivity ≈2 × 10^-4 ohm-cm) indium oxide (undoped) films have been produced by thermal evaporation from In₂O₃ + In source in a vacuum chamber con-taining low pressures of O₂, . Film properties are comparable or superior to the best tin-doped indium oxide films that have ever been reported, and excellent reproducibility has been achieved. Hall effect measurements have revealed that the observed low resistivity is primarily a result of the excellent electron mobility (? 70 cm²/V-sec), although the electron concentration is also rather high (≥4 × l0²⁰/cm³). X-ray diffraction measurements show distinctly polycrystal-line In₂O₃ structure with a lattice constant ranging from 10.07Å to 10.11Å. Electrolytic electroreflectance spectra exhibit at least four critical transitions, from which we have determined the direct and indirect optical band gaps (3.56eV and 2.69eV, respectively). Burstein shifts due to the population of electrons in the condition band are also observed. From an internal photoemission study, the work function of the In₂O₃ film has been determined to be 5.0eV. These and other results, along with a discussion of the processing details are reported.     

Effects of surface treatment using aqua regia solution on the change of surface band bending of p-type GaN

Effects of surface treatment on the change of band bending at the surface of p-type GaN were studied using synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy, and the results were used to interpret the reduction of contact resistivity by the surface treatment. The contact resistivity on p-type GaN decreased from (5.1±1.2)×10⁻¹ to (9.3±3.5)×10⁻⁵Ω cm² by the surface treatment using aqua regia prior to Pt deposition. Surface band bending was reduced by 0.58 eV and 0.87 eV after the surface treatments by HCl and aqua regia solutions, respectively. The atomic ratio of Ga/N decreased as the photoelectron detection angle was decreased, indicating that the surface oxide was mainly composed of Ga and O, GaO_x, formed during high-temperature annealing for the generation of holes, and Ga vacancies, V_Ga, were produced below the GaO_x layer. Consequently, the aqua regia treatment plays a role in removing GaO_x formed on p-type GaN, leading to the shift of the Fermi level toward the energy levels of V_Ga located near the valence band edge. This causes the decrease of barrier height for the transport of holes, resulting in the good ohmic contacts to p-type GaN.     

Atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 and HfO2 on GaN: A comparative study on interfaces and electrical characteristics

Al₂O₃, HfO₂, and composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ films were deposited on n-type GaN using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The interfacial layer of GaON and HfON was observed between HfO₂ and GaN, whereas the absence of an interfacial layer at Al₂O₃/GaN was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The dielectric constants of Al₂O₃, HfO₂, and composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ calculated from the C-V measurement are 9, 16.5, and 13.8, respectively. The Al₂O₃ employed as a template in the composite structure has suppressed the interfacial layer formation during the subsequent ALD-HfO₂ and effectively reduced the gate leakage current. While the dielectric constant of the composite HfO₂/Al₂O₃ film is lower than that of HfO₂, the composite structure provides sharp oxide/GaN interface without interfacial layer, leading to better electrical properties.     

Calculations and measurements of contact resistance of semi-transparent Ni/Pd contacts to p-GaN

Calculations of specific contact resistance as a function of doping and barrier height were performed for p-type GaN. These calculations took into account two valence bands, each with different effective masses, and show that at low doping, the heavy hole band accounts for most of the conduction, whereas at heavier doping, the light hole band dominates conduction. These calculations also indicate the barrier height for typical contacts to p-GaN is between 0.75 eV and 1 eV. Specific contact resistance measurements were made for oxidized Ni/Au, Pd, and oxidized Ni/Pd ohmic contact metal schemes to p-GaN. The Ni/Pd contact had the lowest specific contact resistance, 6×10⁻⁴ Ω cm². Auger sputter depth profile analysis showed some Ni diffused away from the GaN surface to the contact surface with the bulk of the Pd located in between two areas of Ni. Both Ni and Pd interdiffused with the GaN at the semiconductor surface. The majority of the oxygen observed was with the Ni as NiO. Angle-resolved-x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS) analyses showed the formation of predominantly NiO and PdO species, with higher Ni and Pd oxides at the contact surface.     

The electrical and physical analysis of Pt gate/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/p-Si (100) with dual high-k gate oxide thickness for deep submicron complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor device with low power and high reliability

In order to examine the electrical and physical properties of Al₂O₃ layers with dual thickness on a chip, Pt gate/Al₂O₃ with dual thickness/p-type Si (100) samples were fabricated using atomic-layer deposition, separation photolithography, and 100:1 HF wet etching to remove the first Al₂O₃ layer. Dual metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with thin (physical thickness, ∼4.5 nm, equivalent oxide thicknesses (EOT): 2.8 nm) and thick (physical thickness, ∼8.2 nm, EOT: 4.3 nm) Al₂O₃ layers showed a good leakage current density of −5.4×10⁻⁶ A/cm² and −2.5×10⁻⁹ A/cm² at −1 V, respectively; good reliability characteristics as a result of the good surface roughness; low capacitance versus voltage measurements (C-V) hysteresis; and a good interface state density (∼7×10¹⁰ cm⁻²eV⁻¹ near the midgap) as a result of pre-rapid thermal annealing (pre-RTA) after depositing the Al₂O₃ layer compared with the single MOS capacitors without the pre-RTA. These results suggest that dual Al₂O₃ layers using the dual gate oxide (DGOX) process can be used for the simultaneous integration of the low power transistors with a thin Al₂O₃ layer and high reliability regions with a thick Al₂O₃ layer.     

Influence of passivating interlayer on Ge/HfO2 and Ge/Al2O3 interface band diagrams

The energy band alignment between Ge, HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ was analyzed as influenced by passivating interlayers (ILs) of different composition (GeO₂, Ge₃N₄, Si/SiO_x). From internal photoemission and photoconductivity experiments we found no IL-sensitive dipoles at the Ge/HfO₂ interfaces, the latter being universally characterized by conduction and valence band offsets of 2.1 and 3.0 eV, respectively. However, in the case of HfO₂ growth using H₂O-based atomic layer deposition, the Ge oxide IL appears to have a narrower bandgap, 4.3 eV, than the 5.4–5.9 eV gap of bulk germania. Accordingly, formation of this IL yields significantly reduced barriers for hole and, particularly, electron injection from Ge into the insulator. Changing to a H-free process for HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ deposition suppresses the formation of the narrow-gap Ge oxide.     

Interface-state characteristics of GaN/GaAs MIS capacitors

Detailed results of the capacitance voltage, conductance voltage and transient capacitance analysis on GaN/GaAs MIS capacitor are presented. It has been found that the low frequency capacitance rises for deep-depletion biases for both n- and p-type GaAs. Transient capacitance analysis has resulted in bulk life time of a few nanosec which is expected for direct band gap semiconductors like GaAs. The interface state density distribution as obtained from the conductance technique showed a rise in the interface state density around 0.30 eV below E_c and 0.55 eV above E_ν of GaAs. The minimum interface state density is around 8 × 10¹⁰/cm² eV.     

Influence of annealing on the structural,optical and electrical properties of indium oxide films deposited on c-sapphire substrate

Indium oxide (In₂O₃) films were prepared on Al₂O₃ (0001) substrates at 700 °C by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Then the samples were annealed at 800 °C, 900 °C and 1 000 °C, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals that the samples were polycrystalline films before and after annealing treatment. Triangle or quadrangle grains can be observed, and the corner angle of the grains becomes smooth after annealing. The highest Hall mobility is obtained for the sample annealed at 900 °C with the value about 24.74 cm²·V^-1·s^-1. The average transmittance for the films in the visible range is over 90%. The optical band gaps of the samples are about 3.73 eV, 3.71 eV, 3.70 eV and 3.69 eV corresponding to the In₂O₃ films deposited at 700 °C and annealed at 800 °C, 900 °C and 1 000 °C, respectively.     

Formation and characterization of CdS/ZnSiAs2 heterojunctions

A rectifying junction between MOCVD formed ZnSiAs₂ and evaporated CdS has been studied. Current-voltage behavior at current densities above about 1mA/cm² appears to be dominated by tunnelling. Capacitance measurements indicate an acceptor concentration in ZnSiAs₂ of 5 × 10¹⁶cm^-3, junction diffusion voltage of 1.0V and the presence of deep traps. Device series resistance could be attributed in part to compensating cross-doping. CdS/ZnSiAs₂ junctions exhibit photovoltaic response, and photovoltages above 0.5V under 5 sun illumination. ZnSiAs₂ electron affinity is estimated to be 3.9eV, and a tentative CdS/ZnSiAs₂ band diagram is presented.     

Band Offsets in the Mg0.5Ca0.5O/GaN Heterostructure System

MgCaO offers promise as a gate dielectric for GaN-based metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, particularly in combination with environmentally stable capping layers such as Sc₂O₃. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to measure the energy discontinuity in the valence band (ΔE _v ) of Mg_0.5Ca_0.5O/GaN heterostructures in which the MgCaO was grown by rf plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on top of thick GaN templates on sapphire substrates. A value of ΔE _v = 0.65 eV ± 0.10 eV was obtained by using the Ga 3d energy level as a reference. Given the bandgap of 7.45 eV for the MgCaO, we infer a conduction band offset ΔE _C of 3.36 eV in the Mg_0.5Ca_0.5O system.     

White electroluminescence from ZnO/GaN structures

White electroluminescence (EL) from ZnO/GaN structures fabricated by pulsed laser deposition of ZnO:In onto GaN:Mg/GaN structures MOCVD-grown on Al₂O₃ substrates has been observed. The white light is produced by superposition of the two strongest emission lines, narrow blue and broad yellow, peaked at 440 and 550 nm, respectively. The intensity ratio of different EL lines from ZnO/GaN/Al₂O₃ structures depends on the ZnO film quality and drive current. The white EL is due to the high density of structural defects at the n-ZnO/p-GaN interface. A band diagram of the n-ZnO/p-GaN/n-GaN structure is constructed and a qualitative explanation of the EL is suggested.