Growth characteristics of hydride-free chemical beam epitaxy and application to GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

We report on the complete characterization of a hydride- and hydrogen-free chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) process for the realization of GaAs/GaInP heterojunction bipolar transistors. Alternative group V sources tertiarybutylarsine, tertiarybutylphosphine, and trisdimethylaminoarsenic are used instead of traditionally employed AsH₃ and PH₃. A very high degree of reproducibility of growth parameters (fluxes, substrate temperature, doping levels) is demonstrated. Total defect densities lower than 10 def/cm² are routinely obtained. Large-area GaInP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) show a high current gain of 225 for base sheet resistance of 400 ohm/sq. The devices also exhibit excellent high-frequency characteristics. A cut-off frequency of 48 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 60 GHz have been obtained. These results demonstrate the high potential capability of CBE for high-throughput GaInP/GaAs HBT production.     

A Roadmap for Controlled and Efficient n‐Type Doping of Self‐Assisted GaAs Nanowires Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

N‐type doping of GaAs nanowires has proven to be difficult because the amphoteric character of silicon impurities is enhanced by the nanowire growth mechanism and growth conditions. The controllable growth of n‐type GaAs nanowires with carrier density as high as 10²⁰ electron cm^?3 by self‐assisted molecular beam epitaxy using Te donors is demonstrated here. Carrier density and electron mobility of highly doped nanowires are extracted through a combination of transport measurement and Kelvin probe force microscopy analysis in single‐wire field‐effect devices. Low‐temperature photoluminescence is used to characterize the Te‐doped nanowires over several orders of magnitude of the impurity concentration. The combined use of those techniques allows the precise definition of the growth conditions required for effective Te incorporation.     

The growth of Magnesium-doped GaAs by the Om-Vpe process

Magnesium-doped GaAs has been grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OM-VPE). Bis (cyclopentadienyl) mag-nesium (Cp₂Mg) is used as the organometallic precursor to Mg. The epitaxial layers have been characterized by resis-tivity and Hall measurements, photoluminescence spectro-scopy and optical microscopy. The material is of high electrical and optical quality; controllable doping over the range 10¹⁵ to 10¹⁹cm^-3 is reproducibly attained. The ionization energy of the Mg acceptor is determined to be 30 ± 2.5 meV at 77K. Negligible compensation is observed, consistent with clean thermolysis of the Cp₂Mg under growth conditions. GaAs diodes have been fabricated using Mg as the p-dopant and either Se, Si, or Sn as the n-dopant. The diodes show very low leakage currents under reverse bias, even at relatively high doping levels. Degenerately-doped junctions for interconnecting monolithic cascade concentrator solar cells have also been successfully grown, displaying forward conductivities as high as 19 amps V⁻¹ cm^-2 at 0.05V forward bias.     

Incorporation of Sn on GaAs (111)A substrates by molecular beam epitaty

Behavior of Sn as donor species in the MBE growth of GaAs on (111)A substrates has been investigated by varying the growth temperature from 460 to 620°C, As₄:Ga flux ratio from 4 to 25, and Sn concentration from 10¹⁶ to 10²⁰ atoms cm^-3. Secondary ion mass microscopy measurements show that Sn does not surface segregate on (111)A substrates under this growth condition, in contrast to that on (001) substrates. Sn is uniformly incorporated throughout the bulk of the grown layer for all samples, apart from the most highly doped ones. To increase the Sn carrier concentration on the (111)A substrates, the measured carrier concentration shows that doping should be carried out at a low growth temperature and/or high As₄:Ga flux ratio.     

Breakdown characteristics of MOVPE grown Si-doped GaAs Schottky diodes

The breakdown characteristics of Au/n-GaAs Schottky contacts on metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy grown Si-doped n-GaAs were measured in the doping range of 6×10¹⁵–1.5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³. These results are compared with the experimentally measured breakdown voltages by several workers and also with the theoretical calculation predicted by Sze and Gibbons [Sze SM, Gibbons G. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1966;8:111]. Good agreement was observed between the measured data and the breakdown voltages by Sze and Gibbons in the high doping concentrations. The maximum depletion layer width is found to be in good agreement with the theoretical analysis by Sze and Gibbons. The breakdown voltage at higher doping concentration will be useful for the design and development of GaAs switching devices and the emitter-base region of bipolar transistors.     

AIGaAsSb Buffer/Barrier on GaAs substrate for InAs channel devices with high electron mobility and practical reliability

InAs/AlGaAsSb deep quantum well was successfully formed on GaAs substrate and examined for two electron devices, Hall elements (HEs), and field-effect transistors (FETs). With a thin buffer layer of 600 nm AIGaAsSb on GaAs substrate, we observed high electron mobility more than 23000 cm²/Vs and extrinsic effective electron velocity of 2.2 x 10⁷ cm/s for a 15 nm thick InAs channel at room temperature. AIGaAsSb lattice matched to InAs was discussed from the view points of insulating property, carrier confinement, and oxidization rate. Reliability data good enough for practical use were also obtained for HEs. We demonstrated AIGaAsSb as a promising buffer/barrier layers for InAs channel devices on GaAs substrate, and we discussed the possible advantages of AIGaAsSb also for InGaAs FETs.     

Growth condition dependence for GaAs selective epitaxial growth by molecular beam epitaxy

GaAs selective epitaxial growth by conventional molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was studied while varying its growth conditions, such as substrate temperature. As pressure, growth rate, and Si or Be doping. Selectivity is improved with the increase in substrate temperature, and with the decrease in As pressure or growth rate. Si and Be were doped up to 3 x 10¹⁸ and 3 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³, respectively. While no Si doping influence was observed, Be doping degraded the surface morphology. Selective epitaxial growth by conventional MBE with appropriate growth conditions will be applicable to device fabrication.     

High‐Performance Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Photodetectors Enhanced by Self‐Assembled Monolayer Doping

Most doping research into transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has been mainly focused on the improvement of electronic device performance. Here, the effect of self‐assembled monolayer (SAM)‐based doping on the performance of WSe₂‐ and MoS₂‐based transistors and photodetectors is investigated. The achieved doping concentrations are ≈1.4 × 10¹¹ for octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) p‐doping and ≈10¹¹ for aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) n‐doping (nondegenerate). Using this SAM doping technique, the field‐effect mobility is increased from 32.58 to 168.9 cm² V^?1 s in OTS/WSe₂ transistors and from 28.75 to 142.2 cm² V^?1 s in APTES/MoS₂ transistors. For the photodetectors, the responsivity is improved by a factor of ≈28.2 (from 517.2 to 1.45 × 10⁴ A W^?1) in the OTS/WSe₂ devices and by a factor of ≈26.4 (from 219 to 5.75 × 10³ A W^?1) in the APTES/MoS₂ devices. The enhanced photoresponsivity values are much higher than that of the previously reported TMD photodetectors. The detectivity enhancement is ≈26.6‐fold in the OTS/WSe₂ devices and ≈24.5‐fold in the APTES/MoS₂ devices and is caused by the increased photocurrent and maintained dark current after doping. The optoelectronic performance is also investigated with different optical powers and the air‐exposure times. This doping study performed on TMD devices will play a significant role for optimizing the performance of future TMD‐based electronic/optoelectronic applications.     

An evaluation of contamination from plasma immersion ion implantation on silicon device characteristics

Silicon devices including diodes, metal oxide semiconductor capacitors, and p-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistors were fabricated by plasma immersion ion implantation (PHI) doping technique using a microwave multipolar bucket plasma system. B₂H₆ diluted in helium (1%) was used as the gas source. The contamination by helium, hydrogen, iron, sodium, and aluminum impurities was evaluated by secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements. During PHI processing in an aluminum chamber with a stainless steel wafer holder, no aluminum and a dose of 4.1 x 10¹²/cm² of Fe were detected. Most of Fe ions were shielded by a thin layer of SiO₂ during the device fabrications. Good quality devices have been demonstrated including low reverse current of 15 nA/cm² (V_R = -5 V) in diodes and reasonable lifetimes of the minority carriers such as t_g = 55.0 μsec and = τ_r 54.2 μsec.     

On the intrinsic limits of pentacene field-effect transistors

Performance limits for pentacene based field-effect transistors are investigated using single- and polycrystalline devices. Whereas the charge transport in single crystalline devices is band-like with mobilities up to 10⁵ cm²/V s at low temperatures, temperature-independent or thermally activated charge transport can be observed in polycrystalline thin film transistors depending on the growth conditions. Trapping and grain boundary effects significantly influence the temperature dependence of the field-effect mobility. Furthermore, the device performance of p-channel transistors (mobility, on/off ratio, sub-threshold swing) decreases slightly with increasing trap densities. However, the formation of an electron accumulation layer (n-channel) is significantly stronger affected by trapping processes in the thin film devices. Single crystalline p-channel devices exhibit at room temperature mobilities as high as 3.2 cm²/V s, on/off-ratios exceeding 10⁹, and sub-threshold swings as low as 60 mV/decade. Slightly diminished values are obtained for transistors working as n-channel devices (2 cm²/V s, 10⁸, and 150 mV/decade).     

GaAs planar gunn devices with sulfur-ion implanted n layers

Planar type Gunn effect devices have been fabricated by sulfur-ion implantation into the Cr doped semi-insulating GaAs substrates. The high doping efficiency as 90% was obtained as a result of long heat treatment. The mobility of the sulfur-ion implanted n layers with average carrier concentration of 4 × 10¹⁶cm^?3 was 5200 cm²/Vsec at room temperature and 12,000 cm²/Vsec at 77 K. The minimum gate trigger voltage of the Gunn effect digital devices was 100 mV. Sulfur-ion implanted Gunn effect devices have shown superior current drop ratio dependence on doping-depth product, compared to the devices prepared from the epitaxial layer.     

Molecular beam epitaxial growth of carbon doped GaAs with elemental gallium and arsenic sources and a CCI4 gas source

CC1₄ has been used as a carbon acceptor dopant source for GaAs grown by elemental source molecular beam epitaxy. Deposition of CC1₄ during normal arsenic stabilized growth of GaAs resulted in low mobility, p-type material. Attempts to thermally crack the CC1₄ using a heated gas cracking source resulted in an even lower hole concentration and mobility. One possible explanation for this ineffective acceptor doping behavior, relative to growth environments containing hydrogen (metalorganic chemical vapor deposition) where CC1₄ is an effective dopant, is that hydrogen plays a role in the incorporation of the carbon. Another possible explanation for the poor doping behavior is that the CC1₄ was being modified by the gas cracker, even at relatively low gas cracker temperatures. Further experimentation with different injection schemes will be necessary to better understand the doping behavior. Depositing the CC1₄ onto static, gallium-rich surfaces produces GaAs:C with hole mobilities comparable to GaAs:Be. Average hole concentrations as high as 4 x 10¹⁹ have been demonstrated. Carbon doped AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolor transistors (HBT_s) have been fabricated with the same characteristics as Be doped HBTs grown in the same MBE system.     

Effect of high-temperature annealing on GaInP/GaAs HBT structures grown by LP-MOVPE

We have investigated the effect of high-temperature annealing on device performance of GaInP/GaAs HBTs using a wide range of MOVPE growth parameters for the C-doped base layer. Carbon doping was achieved either via TMG and AsH₃ only or by using an extrinsic carbon source. High-temperature annealing causes degradation of carbon-doped GaAs in terms of minority carrier properties even at doping levels of p=1 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³. The measured reduction in electron lifetime and luminescence intensity correlates with HBT device results. It is shown that the critical temperature where material degradation starts is both a function of doping method and carbon concentration.     

Near ballistic electron transport in GaAs devices at 77°K

The effect of collisions on near ballistic electron transport in short GaAs terminal devices at 77°K is analyzed in the frame of the model based on the equations of momentum and energy balance where momentum and energy relaxation times are fit to agree with the results of Monte Carlo calculation for static constant electric fields. Solving the equations by the iteration technique yields the criterion of the ballistic transport $\text{(L}{}_{\mathrm{(\mu m}}\text{) ? 0.44 μ (m}{}^2\text{/V.s) V}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{(v)}$ for GaAs at low voltages). The computer solution is used to obtain current-voltage characteristics, field, energy, velocity and voltage distributions for GaAs devices at 77°K. The results of the calculation show that the ballistic effects are dominant at 77°K even at relatively high doping levels (such as 10¹⁶ cm^?3) for short devices (～ 0.2 μm long). These effects lead to a higher electron velocity at low voltages and could be utilized in building high speed GaAs integrated circuits.     

P-type carbon doping of GaSb

The growth of carbon-doped GaSb by MOVPE has never been reported to our knowledge, despite increasing interest in carbon-doped GaAsSb alloys for heterojunction bipolar transistor applications. In this work, we report the use of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in conjunction with triethylgallium (TEGa) and trimethylantimony (TMSb) to achieve p-type doping levels in GaSb from 5 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ to greater than 10¹⁹ cm⁻³. High resolution x-ray diffraction measurements confirm that the effect of carbon on the lattice parameter is significant for hole concentrations above 1 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ as in the case of GaAs. By introducing controlled low doping levels of carbon into thick homoepitaxial samples, we have succeeded in identifying a carbon-related low temperature photoluminescence band at 795 meV, which we ascribe to band-to-acceptor transitions of carbon acceptors. Temperature-dependent Hall measurements on lightly carbon-doped samples yield somewhat lower binding energies than the spectroscopic data due to impurity banding in the acceptor excited states.     

Some characteristics of highly N-doped VPE grown GaAs epilayers

The doping behaviour of S and Se in the VPE growth of GaAs at 760 and 660°C is studied by carrier concentra-tion, mobility, photo and cathodoluminescence measure-ments. The carrier concentration increases linearly with the partial pressure of S or H₂Se up to a solubi-lity limit, the highest value of which is obtained with Se at about 10¹⁹cm^-3. The mobility for Se-doped layers is higher than for S-doped ones when n > 4.10¹⁷cm^-3, and a mobility decrease is observed for both at dopings exceeding the solubility limit. Postgrowth annealing at the growth temperature of highly doped samples decreases their carrier concentration to values corresponding to the bulk solubility limit. The decrease of the room temperature luminescence intensity at high doping levels in tentatively interpreted as due to precipitate for-mation. Finally, the linear dependence on the dopant partial pressure of the impurity incorporation as well as the observed annealing behaviour are interpreted by an incorporation mechanism controlled by the surface states.     

砷化镓气相掺硫外延和亚微米薄层的制备

本文介绍了Ga-AsCl_3-H_2体系,研究了气相外延时硫的掺杂行为,讨论了硫的掺杂机理和生长了亚微米薄层。制得的亚微米外延层的质量表明,表面形貌良好,缺陷少,重复性好。典型的电学性质为:当厚度≤0.4μm和浓度为1—2×10~(17)/cm~3时,击穿电压V_B=7—10V。在单层和多层外延结构中,界面浓度基本是突变的,过渡区约0.1μm。这些外延片已用于制备变容管和远红外探测器等。     

Silicon epitaxial growth using dichlorosilane

This paper describes the results obtained growing silicon epitaxial structures in a horizontal reactor using dichlorosilane as the silicon source material. The growth rate dependence upon temperature and dichlorosilane flux has been obtained for rates ranging from 1 μm/min to 20 μm/min for all major crystal orientations. Characterization was carried out using spreading resistance measurements, IR interference, preferential etching, and optical microscopy, for layer thicknesses ranging from 3 μm to 250 μm. The majority of the structures grown were multi-layered, intended for use in fabricating high voltage power transistors. Controlled doping levels over the range 5 × 10¹³ to 1 × 10¹⁷ were obtained using either AsH³ or B²Hg⁶ as the dopant source. The effect of growth parameters on the doping profile and quality of such layers is described. Operating devices fabricated from this material exhibit bulk avalanche breakdown voltage. Large area npn transistors with collector base voltages greater than 2000 volts and current gains of 10 to 30 have also been fabricated.     

High growth rate metal‐organic molecular beam epitaxy for the fabrication of GaAs space solar cells

In this work, the epitaxial growth of GaAs photovoltaic devices using metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE) and chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) with growth rates in excess of 3 μm/h is undertaken. The performance of these preliminary devices offer encouraging evidence for MOMBE and CBE as possible alternatives to the more common metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for the production of III‐V solar cells. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance comparison of AlGaAs,GaAs and InGaP tunnel junctions for concentrated multijunction solar cells

Four tunnel junction (TJ) designs for multijunction (MJ) solar cells under high concentration are studied to determine the peak tunnelling current and resistance change as a function of the doping concentration. These four TJ designs are: AlGaAs/AlGaAs, GaAs/GaAs, AlGaAs/InGaP and AlGaAs/GaAs. Time‐dependent and time‐average methods are used to experimentally characterize the entire current–voltage profile of TJ mesa structures. Experimentally calibrated numerical models are used to determine the minimum doping concentration required for each TJ design to operate within a MJ solar cell up to 2000‐suns concentration. The AlGaAs/GaAs TJ design is found to require the least doping concentration to reach a resistance of <10⁻⁴ Ω cm² followed by the GaAs/GaAs TJ and finally the AlGaAs/AlGaAs TJ. The AlGaAs/InGaP TJ is only able to obtain resistances of ≥5 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm² within the range of doping concentrations studied. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.