Correlation of biaxial strains, bound exciton energies, and defect microstructures in gan films grown on AlN/6H-SiC(0001) substrates

Biaxial strains resulting from mismatches in thermal expansion coefficients and lattice parameters in 22 GaN films grown on A1N buffer layers previously deposited on vicinal and on-axis 6H-SiC(0001) substrates were measured via changes in the c-axis lattice parameter. A Poisson’s ratio of ν = 0.18 was calculated. The bound exciton energy (E_BX) was a linear function of these strains. The shift in E_BX with film stress was 23 meV/GPa. Threading dislocations densities of ~10¹⁰/cm² and ~10⁸/em² were determined for GaN films grown on vicinal and on-axis SiC, respectively. A 0.9% residual compressive strain at the GaN/AIN interface was observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).     

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.     

Schottky barrier height modification in Au/n-type 6H-SiC structures by PbS interfacial layer

We have prepared the Au/PbS/n-6H-SiC Schottky diodes with interface layer and the reference Au/n-6H-SiC/Ni Schottky diodes without interface layer to realize Schottky barrier height (SBH) modification in the Au/SiC Schottky diodes. The BH reduction has been succeeded by the PbS interlayer to modify the effective BH by influencing the space charge region of the SiC. The PbS thin layer on the SiC was formed by the vacuum evaporation. The SBH values of 0.97 and 0.89 eV for the samples with and without the interfacial PbS layer were obtained from the forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study was carried out to determine the structural formation of the PbS on SiC. The reduction of the BH in the Au/PbS/n-6H-SiC Schottky diodes has been attributed to the fact that the interface states have a net positive interface charge in metal/n-type semiconductor contact, and thus the positive space charge Q_sc in the Au/PbS/n-6H-SiC Schottky diodes becomes smaller than if the interface state charges Q_ss were absent. The experimental carrier concentration value of 4.73 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ obtained from the forward and reverse bias capacitance-voltage characteristics for the Au/PbS/n-6H-SiC contacts is lower than the value of 5.52 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ obtained for the reference diode, and this is an evidence of the reduction of the BH by the modification of the space charge density of the SiC.     

Improved oxidation procedures for reduced SiO2/SiC defects

A significant reduction in the effective oxide charge and interface state densities in oxides grown on p-type 6H-SiC has been obtained by lowering the oxidation temperature of SiC to 1050°C. Further improvements are obtained by following the oxidation with an even lower temperature re-oxidation anneal. This anneal dramatically improves the electrical properties of the Si/SiC interface, and substantially lowers the interface state density. The net oxide charge density on p-type 6H-SiC is also lowered significantly, but remains quite high, at 1.0 × 10¹² cm^-2. The interface state densities of 1.0 × 10¹¹ cnr⁻²/eV are approaching acceptable MOS device levels. The breakdown fields of the oxides are also substantially improved by both the lower oxidation temperature and re-oxidation anneal. Using a low temperature oxidation followed by a re-oxidation anneal for MOSFETs results in a room temperature mobility of 72 cm²/V-s, the highest channel mobility reported for SiC MOSFETs to date.     

High quality AIN and GaN grown on compliant Si/SiC substrates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

Epitaxial layers of AlN and GaN were grown by gas source molecular-beam epitaxy on a composite substrate consisting of a thin (250 nm) layer of silicon (111) bonded to a polycrystalline SiC substrate. Two dimensional growth modes of AlN and GaN were observed. We show that the plastic deformation of the thin Si layer results in initial relaxation of the AlN buffer layer and thus eliminates cracking of the epitaxial layer of GaN. Raman, x-ray diffraction, and cathodoluminescence measurements confirm the wurtzite structure of the GaN epilayer and the c-axis crystal growth orientation. The average stress in the GaN layer is estimated at 320 MPa. This is a factor of two less than the stress reported for HVPE growth on 6H-SiC (0001).     

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition- grown AIN on 6H-SiC for metal-insulator-semiconductor device applications

Aluminum nitride is a promising insulator for the fabrication of 6H-silicon carbide (6H-SiC) metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices for high temperature and high power applications. Due to the fact that the electrical response of a Au/AlN/SiC MIS structure is sensitive to the quality of the insulator-semiconductor interface as well as the insulator itself, growth of AlN on 6H-SiC using different growth procedures will produce AlN/6H-SiC structures of different electrical characteristics. In this study, we compared the capacitance-voltage, dc current voltage and high electric field breakdown characteristics of various AlN/6H-SiC MIS structures grown by different low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition growth procedures. Our results demonstrated that depending on the growth procedure, Au/AlN/SiC MIS structures with low current leakage, low interface state density, good high temperature stability and high electric field breakdown voltage could be obtained.     

Amorphous structures of buried oxide in SiC-on-insulator

A buried amorphous layer in high-dose oxygen ion-implanted silicon carbide (SiC) has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Single crystalline (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC wafers were irradiated with 180 keV oxygen ions at 650°C to a fluence of 1.4 ×10¹⁸/cm². A fully amorphous SiO₂ layer was formed insido the irradiated crystal, while the surrounded 6H-SiC exhibited minimal damage. This SiO₂ layer included self-bonded carbon atoms and showed a layered structure due to compositional variations of silicon, carbon, and oxygen.     

Boron implantation and epitaxial regrowth studies of 6H SiC

Implantation of B has been performed into an epitaxially grown layer of 6H SiC, at two different B concentrations, 2×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and 2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³. Subsequently, an epitaxial layer was regrown on the B implanted layer. The samples were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). In the highly B-doped layers plate-like defects were found, associated with large strain fields, and an increased B concentration. These defects were stable at the originally implanted region during regrowth and at anneal temperatures up to 1700°C. In the samples implanted with the lower B concentration, no crystal defects could be detected by TEM. No threading dislocations or other defects were observed in the regrown epitaxial layer, which shows the possibility to grow a layer with high crystalline quality on B implanted 6H SiC. By SIMS, it was found that B piles up at the interface to the regrown layer, which could be explained by enhanced diffusion from an increased concentration of point defects created by implantation damage in the region. B is also spread out into the original crystal and in the regrown layer at a concentration of below 2×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, with a diffusion constant estimated to 1.3×10⁻¹² cm²s⁻¹. This diffusion is most probably not driven by implantation damage, but by intrinsic defects in the grown crystal. Our investigation shows that the combination of implantation and subsequent regrowth techniques could be used in SiC for building advanced device structures, with the crystal quality in the regrown layer not being deteriorated by crystal defects in the implanted region. A device process using B implantation and subsequent regrowth could on the other hand be limited by the diffusion of B.     

High temperature stability of chromium boride ohmic contacts to p-type 6H-SiC

Ohmic contacts have been fabricated on p-type 6H-SiC using CrB₂. Two hundred nanometer thick films were sputter-deposited on substrates of doping concentration 1.3×10¹⁹ cm⁻³ in a system with a base pressure of 3×10⁻⁷ Torr. Specific contact resistances were measured using the linear transmission line method, and the physical properties of the contacts were examined using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The as-deposited CrB₂ contacts exhibited rectifying characteristics and contained oxygen as a major contaminant. Ohmic behavior with linear current-voltage characteristics was observed following short anneals at 1100°C for 2 min at a pressure of 5×10⁻⁷ Torr. The oxygen in the CrB₂ films was removed by the annealing process, and the lowest value of the specific contact resistance (r_c) measured at room temperature was 8.2×10⁻⁵ Ω-cm². Longer anneals at 1100°C for 3.5 h and 1200°C for 2 h reduced the room temperature values of r to 1.4×10⁻⁵ Ω-cm². A thin reaction region has been identified at the CrB₂/SiC interface; however, the interface remains essentially stable. Thermal stressing at 300°C in vacuum for over 2200 h produced only a slight increase in the specific contact resistance. The low value of the specific contact resistance and the excellent high temperature stability of the CrB₂/SiC interface make this contact a candidate for high power/high temperature SiC device applications.     

Lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN films on SiO2 areas via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Lateral epitaxial growth and coalescence of GaN regions over SiO₂ masks previously deposited on GaN/AlN/6H-SiC(0001) substrates and containing 3 μm wide rectangular windows spaced 7 μm apart have been achieved. The extent and microstructural characteristics of these regions of lateral overgrowth were a complex function of stripe orientation, growth temperature, and triethylgallium (TEG) flow rate. The most successful growths were obtained from stripes oriented along 〈1 00〉 at 1100°C and a TEG flow rate of 26 μmol/min. A density of ∼10⁹ cm⁻² threading dislocations, originating from the underlying GaN/AlN interface, were contained in the GaN grown in the window regions. The overgrowth regions, by contrast, contained a very low density of dislocations. The surfaces of the coalesced layers had a terrace structure and an average root mean square roughness of 0.26 nm.     

GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy on p-type 6H-SiC layers

6H-SiC/GaN pn-heterostructures were grown by subsequent epitaxial growth of p-SiC by low temperature liquid phase epitaxy (LTLPE) and n-GaN by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). For the first time, p-type epitaxial layers grown on 6H-SiC wafers were used as substrates for GaN HVPE growth. The GaN layers exhibit high crystal quality which was determined by x-ray diffraction. The full width at a half maximum (FWHM) for the ω-scan rocking curve for (0002) GaN reflection was ∼120 arcsec. The photoluminescence spectra for these films were dominated by band-edge emission. The FWHM of the edge PL peak at 361 nm was about 5 nm (80K).     

Polytype Stability and Microstructural Characterization of Silicon Carbide Epitaxial Films Grown on [ {\hbox{11}}\overline{{\hbox{2}}} {\hbox{0}} ]- and [0001]-Oriented Silicon Carbide Substrates

The polytype and surface and defect microstructure of epitaxial layers grown on 4H(), 4H(0001) on-axis, 4H(0001) 8° off-axis, and 6H(0001) on-axis substrates have been investigated. High-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the epitaxial layers on 4H() and 4H(0001) 8° off-axis to have the 4H-SiC (silicon carbide) polytype, while the 3C-SiC polytype was identified for epitaxial layers on 4H(0001) and 6H(0001) on-axis substrates. Cathodoluminescence (CL), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed these results. The epitaxial surface of 4H() films was specular with a roughness of 0.16-nm root-mean-square (RMS), in contrast to the surfaces of the other epitaxial layer-substrate orientations, which contained curvilinear boundaries, growth pits (∼3 × 10⁴ cm⁻²), triangular defects >100 μm, and significant step bunching. Molten KOH etching revealed large defect densities within 4H() films that decreased with film thickness to ∼10⁶ cm⁻² at 2.5 μm, while cross-sectional TEM studies showed areas free of defects and an indistinguishable film-substrate interface for 4H() epitaxial layers.     

Pendeo-epitaxial growth of gallium nitride on silicon substrates

Pendeo-epitaxy (PE)¹ from raised, [0001] oriented GaN stripes covered with silicon nitride masks has been employed for the growth of coalesced films of GaN(0001) with markedly reduced densities of line and planar defects on Si(111)-based substrates. Each substrate contained previously deposited 3C-SiC(111) and AlN(0001) transition layers and a GaN seed layer from which the stripes were etched. The 3C-SiC transition layer eliminated chemical reactions between the Si and the NH₃ and the Ga metal from the decomposition of triethylgallium. The 3C-SiC and the GaN seed layers, each 0.5 μm thick, were also used to minimize the cracking and warping of the GaN/SiC/silicon assembly caused primarily by the stresses generated on cooling due to the mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion. Tilting in the coalesced GaN epilayers of 0.2° was confined to areas of lateral overgrowth over the masks; no tilting was observed in the material suspended above the trenches. The strong, low-temperature PL band-edge peak at 3.456 eV with a FWHM of 17 meV was comparable to that observed in PE GaN films grown on AlN/6H-SiC(0001) substrates.     

X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Characterization of Aluminum Nitride Surface Oxides: Thermal and Hydrothermal Evolution

Oxidized surfaces of aluminum nitride (AlN) epilayers grown on sapphire substrates and of AlN bulk crystals grown by physical vapor transport were studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Analysis of the oxygen core level spectra showed approximately equal contributions from oxygen in two bonding states, which were identified by the binding energies and relative separation of the fitted peaks as OH⁻ and O²⁻. The oxide on air-exposed AlN surfaces was identified as aluminum oxide hydroxide. Systematic annealing experiments were conducted in vacuum to study the thermal evolution of hydroxide layers, and a dehydration mechanism resulting in the formation of Al₂O₃ at high temperature was identified.     

Electric properties of (SiC)<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>(AlN)<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/SiC anisotropic heterostructures

The heterostructures of p-(SiC)_{1 − x} (AlN) _x / _n -6H-SiC are synthesized by means of sublimation epitaxy of (SiC)_{1 − x} (AlN) semiconductor solid solutions at 6H-SiC substrates. The results of the investigation of the concentration and temperature dependences on current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) are presented. It is revealed that due to the high potential barriers the forward current is caused by the tunneling and recombination processes of charge carriers via states at the boundary surface.     

Improved Ni ohmic contact on n-type 4H-SiC

This paper presents the structural, chemical and electronic properties of Al/Ni/ Al-layers evaporated on 4H silicon carbide and then annealed at 1000°C for 5 min. The structure was investigated before and after annealing by transmission electron spectroscopy from cross-sectional specimens. With x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, both element distribution and bonding energies were followed during sputtering through the alloyed metal-semiconductor contact. Voids are found in both annealed Ni/4H-SiC and Al/Ni/Al/4H-SiC contact layers, though closer to the metal-semiconductor interface in the former case. The first aluminum-layer is believed to prevent voids to be formed at the interface and also to reduce the oxide on the semiconductor surface. The contact was found to be ohmic with a specific contact resistance ρ_c - 1.8 × 10⁻⁵ Ωcm² which is more than three times lower ρ_c than for the ordinary Ni/4H-SiC contact prepared in the same way.     

Micropipe and dislocation density reduction in 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC structures grown by liquid phase epitaxy

We investigated silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). The layers were grown on 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC well-oriented (0001) 35 mm diameter commercial wafers as well as on 6H-SiC Lely crystals. A few experiments were also done on off-axis 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC substrates. Layer thickness and growth rate ranged from 0.5 to 50 microns and 0.5 to 10 μm/h, respectively. Layers were investigated by x-ray diffraction, x-ray topography, and selective chemical etching in molten KOH. It was found that dislocation and micropipe density in LPE grown epitaxial layers were significantly reduced compared with the defect densities in the substrates.     

Characterization of Epitaxial Indium Nitride Interlayers for Ohmic Contacts to Silicon Carbide

Ohmic contacts to n-type 4H- and 6H-SiC without postdeposition annealing were achieved using an interlayer of epitaxial InN beneath a layer of Ti. The InN films were grown by reactive dc magnetron sputtering at 450°C, whereas the Ti films were deposited by electron-beam evaporation at room temperature. The InN films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary electron microscopy (SEM), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Hall-effect measurements. Both XRD and TEM observations revealed that the Ti and InN films have epitaxial relationships with the 6H-SiC substrate as follows: (0001)[]_Ti∥(0001)[]_InN∥(0001)[]_6H-SiC. The Ti/InN/SiC contacts displayed ohmic behavior, whereas Ti/SiC contacts (without an InN interlayer) were nonohmic. These results suggest that InN reduces the Schottky barrier height at the SiC surface via a small conduction-band offset and support previous reports of an electron accumulation layer at the surface of InN.     

High-quality schottky and ohmic contacts in planar 4H-SiC metal semiconductor field-effect transistors and device performance

We have fabricated planar 4H-SiC, metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) with high-quality metal/SiC contacts. To eliminate potential damage to the gate region caused by etching and simplify the device fabrication process, gate Schottky contacts were formed without any recess gate etching, and an ideality factor of 1.03 was obtained for these gate contacts. The interface state density between the contact metal and SiC was 5.7×10¹² cm⁻²eV⁻¹, which was found from the relationship between the barrier height and the metal work function. These results indicate that the interface was well controlled. Thus, a transconductance of 30 mS/mm was achieved with a 3-μm gate length as the performance figure of these MESFETs with high-quality metal/SiC contacts. Also, a low ohmic contact resistance of 1.2×10⁻⁶ Θcm² was obtained for the source and drain ohmic contacts by using ion implantation.     

Role of titanium in Ti/Ni ohmic contact on n-type 6H-SiC

A set of Ti/Ni metallizations with different thickness of the underlying titanium layer was prepared on 6H-SiC together with structures that contained only pure Ti and Ni. Samples were gradually annealed at 750-1150 °C. Structures Ti(2)/Ni(50) and Ti(100)/Ni(50) showed the lowest contact resistivity, 2 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm² in both cases. For the Ti(2)/Ni(50) structure, low contact resistivity was reached most likely due to reduction of surface oxides on SiC by the thin titanium layer. In the Ti(100)/Ni(50) structure, the titanium layer prevents diffusion of nickel towards SiC and there is a layer containing mainly TiC at the interface with silicon carbide.