Formation mechanism of InxGa1−xAs ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs prepared by radio frequency sputtering

The formation mechanisms of InAs/Ni/W ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs prepared by radio-frequency (rf) sputtering were studied by measuring contact resistances (R_c) using a transmission line method and by analyzing the interfacial structure mainly by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Current-voltage characteristics of the InAs/Ni/W contacts after annealing at temperatures above 600°C showed “ohmic-like behavior.” In order to obtain the “ohmic” behavior in the contacts, pre-heating at 300°C prior to high temperature annealing was found to be essential. The contacts showed ohmic behavior after annealing at temperatures in the range of 500∼850°C and contact resistance values of as low as ∼0.3Ω-mm were obtained. By analyzing the interfacial structures of these contacts, In_xGa_1−xAs layers with low density of misfit dislocations at the In_xGa_1−xAs and GaAs interface were observed to grow epitaxially on the GaAs substrate upon heating at high temperatures. This intermediate In_xGa_1−xAs layer is believed to divide the high energy barrier at the contact metal and GaAs interface into two low barriers, resulting in reduction of the contact resistance. In addition, Ni was found to play a key role to relax a strain in the In_xGa_1−xAs layer (introduced due to lattice mismatch between the In_xGa_1−xAs and GaAs) by forming an intermediate Ni_xGaAs layer on the GaAs surface prior to formation of the In_xGa_1−xxAs layer.     

InxGa1−xAs ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs with a tungsten nitride barrier

Significant reduction of the contact resistance of In_0.7Ga_0.3As/Ni/W contacts (which were previously developed by sputtering in our laboratory) was achieved by depositing a W₂N barrier layer between the Ni layer and W layer. The In_0.7Ga_0.3 As/Ni/W₂N/W contact prepared by the radio-frequency sputtering technique showed the lowest contact resistance of 0.2 Ωmm after annealing at 550°C for 10 s. This contact also provided a smooth surface, good reproducibility, and excellent thermal stability at 400°C. The polycrystalline W₂N layer was found to suppress the In diffusion to the contact surface, leading to improvement of the surface morphology and an increase in the total area of the In_xGa−As between metal and the GaAs substrate. These improvements are believed to reduce the contact resistance.     

Microstructural analysis of NiInGe ohmic contacts for n-type GaAs

NiInGe ohmic contact materials, which are attractive to use in future GaAs devices, were previously developed in our laboratories. Although the NiInGe contacts provided low contact resistances of about 0.3 Ω-mm and excellent thermal stability, further reduction of the contact resistance (R_C) of the NiInGe contacts was mandatory to use these contacts in submicron devices. In this paper, the microstructural parameters, which influence the R_C values, were investigated by correlating the R_C values with the microstructure at the interface between the contact materials and the GaAs substrate. The R_C values of the NiInGe contacts were found to depend strongly on the volume fraction and the In concentration (x) of the In_xGa_1−xAs compound semiconductor layers, which were formed at the metal/GaAs interface. Both the volume fraction and the In concentration of the In_xGa_1−xAs layers were found to depend on the thickness of the In layer used in the NiInGe contact and the annealing temperature to form the ohmic contact. A R_C value of 0.18 Ω-mm was obtained for the Ni (18 nm)/In (13 nm)/Ge (30 nm) contact (where a slash “/” indicates the deposition sequence) after annealing at temperature of 650°C for 5 sec.     

Development of InxGa1−xAs-based ohmic contacts for p-type GaAs by radio-frequency sputtering

In_xGa_1−xAs-based ohmic contacts which showed excellent contact properties for n-GaAs were demonstrated to be applicable to p-GaAs ohmic contacts. These contacts, prepared by radio-frequency sputtering, provided low contact resistance (0.2 Ω-mm), excellent thermal stability, smooth surface, and good reproducibility. The contact resistances had a weak dependence on the annealing temperatures, which was desirable in a manufacturing view point. This weak temperature dependence was explained to be due to a unique Schottky barrier height at the metal/p-In_xGa_1−xAs interface which does not depend on the In concentration in the In_xGa_1−xAs layer. The present experiment showed the possibility of simultaneous preparation of ohmic contacts for both n and p-GaAs using the same contact materials.     

Properties and use of ln0.5(AlxGa1-x)0.5P and AlxGa1-x as native oxides in heterostructure lasers

Data are presented demonstrating the formation of native oxides from high Al composition In_0.5(Al_xGa_1-x)_0.5P (x≳ 0.9) by simple annealing in a “wet” ambient. The oxidation occurs by reaction of the high Al composition crystal with H₂O vapor (in a N₂ carrier gas) at elevated temperatures (≥500° C) and results in stable transparent oxides. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) are employed to evaluate the oxide properties, composition, and oxide-semiconductor interface. The properties of native oxides of the In_0.5(Al_xGa_1-x)_0.5P system are compared to those of the Al_xGa_1-xAs system. Possible reaction mechanisms and oxidation kinetics are considered. The In_0.5(Al_xGa_1-x)_0.5P native oxide is shown to be of sufficient quality to be employed in the fabrication of stripe-geometry In_0.5(Al_xGa_1-x)_0.5P visible-spectrum laser diodes.     

Ir Diffusion Barriers in Ni/Au Ohmic Contacts to <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-Type CuCrO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The use of Ir diffusion barriers in Ni/Au-based Ohmic contacts to p-type CuCrO₂ layers was investigated. A specific contact resistance of ~5 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm² was achieved after annealing at 500°C for the Ir-containing contacts, and the contacts were rectifying for lower anneal temperatures. In this case, the contact resistance was basically independent of the measurement temperature, indicating that tunneling is the dominant transport mechanism in the contacts. The morphology for the Ir-containing contacts was still smooth at 500°C although Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling showed that some of the nickel had diffused to the surface and had oxidized. Contacts annealed at 800°C showed that some copper and most of the nickel had diffused to the surface and oxidized. The presence of the Ir diffusion barrier does increase the thermal stability of the contacts by ∼200°C compared to conventional Ni/Au contacts. By contrast, the use of other materials such as TaN, ZrN, and W₂B₅ as the diffusion barrier led to poorer thermal stability, with the contact resistance increasing sharply above 400°C.     

Ohmic contacts ton-type In0.5Ga0.5P

The contact properties of alloyed Ni/Au-Ge/Mo/Au metallization to npoststagger+In_0.5Ga_0.5P epilayers grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates are reported. A minimum specific contact resistance of 10⁻⁵ Ωcm² was obtained forn = 2 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ material after alloying at 360° C for 20 sec. Above this temperature outdiffusion of lattice elements and reactions of the metallization with the In_0.5Ga_0.5P lead to severe morphological changes and degraded contact properties. From the temperature dependence of the contact resistance, thermionic emission was identified as the predominant current transport mechanism in these contacts.     

Electrical and structural properties of GeMoW ohmic contact to an In0.5Ga0.5As cap layer on n-Type GaAs

The results of electrical and structural characterization of a GeMoW ohmic contact to n-type GaAs with a 100Å thick, In_0.5Ga_0.5As cap layer are presented. Electrical characterization demonstrates ohmic behavior over a wide annealing temperature range from 300 to 700°C. A minimum contact resistance of 0.176 Ω-mm was measured after furnace annealing at 500°C. The contact resistance is also insensitive to anneal time at 500°C. Structural characterization using secondary ion mass spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction indicates excess In as a potential cause of increased contact resistance following 700°C annealing.     

Metallurgical amd electroluminescence characteristics of vapor-phase and liquid-phase epitaxial junction structures of InxGa1−xAs

In_xGa_1−xAs (x = 0.05 to 0.32) p-n junction structures have been grown on GaAs substrates by vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE) and liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE). It is shown that by step-grading the VPE material, lattice-mismatch strain can be absorbed by dislocations at the grading interfaces, leaving the final constant-composition device layers relatively dislocation free. In contrast, the dislocation density for LPE In_xGa_1−xAs increases with increasing InAs concentration. For both materials, diffusion lengths, electroluminescence efficiencies, and 77°K laser-diode parameters (threshold and efficiency) can be correlated with their dislocation densities. The VPE materials have electrical and luminescence properties that are independent of InAs concentration, and match those of their GaAs counterparts. The LPE materials exhibit properties that degrade with increasing InAs concentration. This research was supported in part by the Air Force Avionics Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio, under Contract No. F33615-73-C-1177     

Critical thickness determination of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained-layer system by transmission electron microscopy

The critical thicknesses of In_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs and GaAs/In_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs strained-layer systems were determined by transmission electron microscopy using the lift-off technique. The onset of misfit dislocation generation has been observed for the first time and the geometries of the misfit dislocations in both uncapped and capped layers correspond to the predicted models. A comparison is given between the predicted and experimental critical thicknesses.     

Alloyed tin-gold ohmic contacts to n-type indium phosphide

The formation of alloyd ohmic contacts on n-InP using sequentially deposited Sn plus Au films was investigated. The specific contact resistance for metallizations with a Sn content of 5 at. % was determined for annealing temperatures between 250 and 500°C. The minimum specific contact resistance, r_c = (1.8±0.9) × 10^?6 ohm-cm² occurred for a narrow range of annealing temperatures between 380 and 410°C on substrates with n = 3 × 10¹⁸/cm³. For annealing temperatures 350°C the contacts were non-Ohmic and above 420°C the resistance increased dramatically. Contact morphology and metallurgy were studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering. Films annealed above 320°C contained several phases, mainly Au₄In, AuSn and polycrystalline InP. The contacts annealed at temperatures above 410°C were composed predominantly of the single phase Au₃In₂.     

The formation of low resistance electrical contacts to shallow junction InP devices without compromising emitter integrity

An investigation is made into the possibility of providing low resistance contacts to shallow junction InP devices which do not require sintering and which do not cause device degradation even when subjected to extended annealing at elevated temperatures. We show that the addition of In to Au contacts in amounts that exceed the solid solubility limit lowers the as-fabricated (unsintered) contact resistivityR _c to the 10^-5 ohm-cm² range. If the In content is made to correspond exactly to that required to form the intermediate compound Au₉ln₄, then the contacts so formed are stable, both electrically and metallurgically, even after extended annealing (12 hr) at 400° C. We next consider the contact system Au/Au₂P₃ which has been shown to exhibit as-fabricatedR _c values in the 10^-6 ohm-cm² range, but which fails quickly when heated. We show that the substitution of a refractory metal (W, Ta) for Au preserves the lowR _c values while preventing the destructive reactions that would normally take place in this system at high temperatures. We show, finally, thatR _c values in the 10 ohm-cm² range can be achievedwithout sintering by combining the effects of In or Ga additions to Au contacts with the effects of introducing a thin Au₂P₃ layer at the metal-InP interface.     

Current-voltage characteristics and X- ray diffraction study of Pd/Si1- xGex schottky contacts

The electrical characteristics of Pd/p-Si_1-xGe_x Schottky contacts have been investigated. The Schottky contacts were formed by depositing Pd metal on substrates at room temperature (RT = 300K) and at low temperature (LT = 77K). Post annealing was performed in nitrogen atmosphere at 450 and 550°C, respectively, to study the effect of silicide formation on contact characteristics. The current-voltage measurements showed that the barrier height, ϕ_B, decreased with the increase of the gemanium composition. The contact postannealed at 550°C showed a current transport mechanism obviously different from the as-deposited Schottky contacts. Nearly identical characteristics were observed for the low temperature deposited contacts and the room temperature deposited contacts with 550°C post-annealing. They both showed thermionic emission dominated transport mechanism. X-ray diffraction technique was used to characterize the effect of different temperature treatments on the crystal structure. The full width at half maximum of Si_1-xGe_x(400) phase decreased at low temperature deposited sample, while it increased at room temperature deposition.     

Correlation between the electrical properties and the interfacial microstructures of TiAl-based ohmic contacts to p-type 4H-SiC

In order to understand a mechanism of TiAl-based ohmic contact formation for p-type 4H-SiC, the electrical properties and microstructures of Ti/Al and Ni/Ti/Al contacts, which provided the specific contact resistances of approximately 2×10⁻⁵ Ω-cm² and 7×10⁻⁵ Ω-cm² after annealing at 1000°C and 800°C, respectively, were investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Ternary Ti₃SiC₂ carbide layers were observed to grow on the SiC surfaces in both the Ti/Al and the Ni/Ti/Al contacts when the contacts yielded low resistance. The Ti₃SiC₂ carbide layers with hexagonal structures had an epitaxial orientation relationship with the 4H-SiC substrates. The (0001)-oriented terraces were observed periodically at the interfaces between the carbide layers and the SiC, and the terraces were atomically flat. We believed the Ti₃SiC₂ carbide layers primarily reduced the high Schottky barrier height at the contact metal/p-SiC interface down to about 0.3 eV, and, thus, low contact resistances were obtained for p-type TiAl-based ohmic contacts.     

Ohmic contacts on p-type Ga0.47In0.53As/InP

Ohmic contacts of Au and Ag based Zn containing alloys on p-type Ga_0.47In_0.53As have been studied using intermediate layers of Ti and Ni, respectively. Low specific contact resistance in the order of 10⁻⁵ Ωcm² are achieved. In case of AuZn alloy, the Ti intermediate metal layer causes higher contact resistances together with a worse contact morphology in contrast to Ni intermediate layers. However for AgZn contacts Ti adherent layers improve the contact resistances, especially for lower alloying temperatures. Moreover these contacts exhibit significant smoother interfaces as revealed by TEM micrographs. Thus AgZn contacts apply best to low resistive contacting of very thin p-layers forming e.g. the base of a ballistic device.     

NiGe-based ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs

Refractory NiGe ohmic contacts which have excellent thermal stability and smooth surface have been developed. To apply these contacts to the future very large scale integration GaAs devices, reduction of the contact resistance (R_c) of the NiGe contacts is mandatory. In the present paper, in order to obtain a guideline for the R_c reduction, the formation mechanism of the NiGe contacts was investigated. The NiGe contacts were found to have two different ohmic contact formation mechanisms. These mechanisms suggested that facilitation of heavy doping at the GaAs surface and/or in the Ge layer was very effective to reduce the R_c values of the NiGe contacts. Experimentally, the R_c reduction was demonstrated by adding a small amount of third elements. Direct doping elements (Sn, Sb, and Te) and indirect doping elements (Pd, Pt, Au, Ag, and Cu) were chosen as the third elements. In additon, the effect of addition of In, which forms alow barrier layer between metal and GaAs, was investigated. The contact resistance of these NiGe-based contacts were close to 0.3 Ω mm, and they provided smooth surface and shallow reaction depth. Finally, the NiGe-based contacts were compared with the conventional AuGeNi contact.     

The growth and characterization of uniform Ga1-xInxAs (X ≤.25) by Organometallic VPE

Compositionally uniform Ga_1-xIn_xAs epitaxial layers with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2 5 have been grown by organometallic VPE on ◃100▹ GaAs substrates. Compositional uniformities of ±0.25 InAs percentage and ±5% thickness over a 3-cm long wafer have been achieved and are essentially independent of small changes in reactor geometry such as the angle of the susceptor tilt or wafer position on the susceptor. Growth has also been demonstrated at x = 0.52. The Ga_1-xIn_xAs is grown using trimethylgallium (TMGa), triethylindium (TEIn) or trimethylindium (TMIn), and trimethylarsenic (TMAs). The use of TMAs eliminates the roomtemperature gas-phase reaction between AsH₃ and either TEIn or TMIn, and allows one atmospnere pressure growth conditions to be used without any special mixing arrangements in the reactor. The comparative effects of using TEIn or TMIn as the In source are discussed in terms of crystal quality. Data on crystal composition as a function of gas phase composition and growth rate as a function of composition are presented, and n doping and carrier mobilities and p doping of Ga_.80In_.20As ars characterized. The vapor pressure of TMIn at 0°C is determined to be 0.21 mmHg.     

High electron mobility 18300 cm2/V·s in the InAIAs/lnGaAs pseudomorphic structure obtained by channel indium composition modulation

The highest electron mobility yet reported for an InP-based pseudomorphic structure at room temperature, 18300 cm²/V·s, has been obtained by using a structure with an indium composition modulated channel, namely, In_0.53Ga_0.47As/ In_0.8Ga_0.2As/InAs/In_0.8Ga_0.2As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As. Although the total thickness of the high In-content layers (In_0.8Ga_0.2As/InAs/In_0.8Ga_0.2As) exceeds the critical thick-ness predicted by Matthews theory, In_0.8Ga_0.2As insertion makes it possible to form smooth In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.8Ga_0.2As and In_0.8Ga_0.2As/InAs heterointerfaces. This structure can successfully enhance carrier confinement in the high In-content layers. This superior carrier confinement can be expected to lead to the highest yet reported electron mobility.     

Inkjet printed metallizations for Cu(In1−x Ga x )Se2 photovoltaic cells

This study reports the inkjet printing of Ag front contacts on Aluminum doped Zinc Oxide (AZO)/intrinsic Zinc Oxide (i‐ZnO)/CdS/Cu(In_1−xGa_x)Se₂ (CIGS)/Mo thin film photovoltaic cells. The printed Ag contacts are being developed to replace the currently employed evaporated Ni/Al bi‐layer contacts. Inkjet deposition conditions were optimized to reduce line resistivity and reduce contact resistance to the Al:ZnO layer. Ag lines printed at a substrate temperature of 200°C showed a line resistivity of 2.06 µΩ · cm and a contact resistance to Al:ZnO of 8.2 ± 0.2 mΩ · cm² compared to 6.93 ± 0.3 mΩ · cm² for thermally evaporated contacts. These deposition conditions were used to deposit front contacts onto high quality CIGS thin film photovoltaic cells. The heating required to print the Ag contacts caused the performance to degrade compared to similar devices with evaporated Ni/Al contacts that were not heated. Devices with inkjet printed contacts showed 11.4% conversion efficiency compared to 14.8% with evaporated contacts. Strategies to minimize heating, which is detrimental for efficiency, during inkjet printing are proposed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical properties at p-ZnSe/metal interfaces

In order to prepare low resistance ohmic contacts to p-ZnSn by the “deposition and annealing (DA)” technique which has been extensively used for GaAs and Si-based devices, formation of a heavily doped layer by the p-ZnSe/metal reaction is required. For p-ZnSe/Ni contacts, Ni and Se reacted preferentially at the ZnSe/Ni interface upon annealing at temperatures higher than 250°C. However, capacitance-voltage measurements showed that the net acceptor concentration (N_A-N_D) close to the p-ZnSe/Ni interface was reduced upon the Ni/ZnSe reaction, resulting in high contact resistance. For p-ZnSe/Au contacts, neither Au/ZnSe reaction nor reduction of the acceptor concentration were observed after annealing at temperatures lower than 300°C. This indicates that although the metal/p-ZnSe reaction is mandatory to prepare a heavily doped layer, the reaction induced an increase in the compensation donors in the p-ZnSe substrate. In order to increase the acceptor concentration in the vicinity of the p-ZnSe/metal interface through diffusion from the contact materials, Li or O which was reported to play the role of an acceptor in ZnSe was deposited with a contact metal and annealed at elevated temperatures. Ni or Ag was selected as the contact metal, because these metals were expected to enhance Li or O doping by reacting with ZnSe. However, the current density-voltage characteristics of the Li(N)/Ni and Ag(O) contacts exhibited rectifying behavior, and the contact resistances increased with increasing annealing temperature. The present results indicated that, even though the acceptor concentration in the p-ZnSe substrate increased by diffusion of the dopants from the contact elements, an increment of the compensation donors was larger than that of the acceptors. The present experiments indicated that preparation of low resistance ohmic contacts by forming a heavily doped intermediate layer between p-ZnSe and metal is extremely difficult by the DA technique.