Ohmic contacts to n-type GaN using Pd/Al metallization

Ohmic contacts to n-type GaN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were formed using a Pd/Al-based metallization. Ohmic contact resistances and specific contact resistances were investigated as a function of rapid thermal annealing temperature, Pd interlayer thickness, and annealing time. As-deposited Pd/AI was found to produce rectifying contacts while the metallization exhibited ohmic characteristics after annealing at temperatures as low as 400°C. A minimum contact resistance of 0.9 ohm-mm (specific contact resistance = 1.2 × 10⁻⁵ ohm-cm²) was obtained upon annealing at 650°C for 30 s. For comparison, Al and Ti/Al contacts were also investigated. Auger electron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and x-ray diffraction were used to investigate metallurgical reactions.     

Effect of Cryogenic Temperature Deposition of Various Metal Contacts on Bulk Single-Crystal <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Type ZnO

The effect of cryogenic temperatures during metal deposition on the contact properties of Pd, Pt, Ti, and Ni on bulk single-crystal n-type ZnO has been investigated. Deposition at both room and low temperature produced contacts with Ohmic characteristics for Ti and Ni metallizations. By sharp contrast, both Pd and Pt contacts showed rectifying characteristics after deposition with barrier heights between 0.37 eV and 0.69 eV. Changes in contact behavior were measured on Pd to anneal temperatures of ∼300 °C, showing an increase in barrier height along with a decrease in ideality factor with increasing annealing temperature. This difference with annealing temperature is in sharp contrast to previous results for Au contacts to ZnO. There were no differences in near-surface stoichiometry for the different deposition temperatures; however, low temperature contacts demonstrated some peeling/cracking for Pt and Pd.     

Thermal Stability of Nitride-Based Diffusion Barriers for Ohmic Contacts to <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-GaN

The use of TaN, TiN, and ZrN diffusion barriers for Ti/Al-based contacts on n-GaN (n ∼ 3 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³) is reported. The annealing temperature (600–1,000°C) dependence of the Ohmic contact characteristics using a Ti/Al/X/Ti/Au metallization scheme, where X is TaN, TiN, or ZrN, deposited by sputtering was investigated by contact resistance measurements and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The as-deposited contacts were rectifying and transitioned to Ohmic behavior for annealing at ≥600°C. A minimum specific contact resistivity of ∼6 × 10⁻⁵ Ω-cm⁻² was obtained after annealing over a broad range of temperatures (600–900°C for 60 s), comparable to that achieved using a conventional Ti/Al/Pt/Au scheme on the same samples. The contact morphology became considerably rougher at the high end of the annealing range. The long-term reliability of the contacts at 350°C was examined; each contact structure showed an increase in contact resistance by a factor of three to four over 24 days at 350°C in air. AES profiling showed that the aging had little effect on the contact structure of the nitride stacks.     

Study of contact resistivity, mechanical integrity, and thermal stability of Ti/Al and Ta/Al ohmic contacts to n-type GaN

The annealing conditions and contact resistivities of Ta/Al ohmic contacts to n-type GaN are reported for the first time. The high temperature stability and mechanical integrity of Ti/Al and Ta/Al contacts have been investigated. Ta/Al (35 nm/115 nm) contacts to n-type GaN became ohmic after annealing for 3 min at 500°C or for 15 s at 600°C. A minimum contact resistivity of 5×10⁻⁶Ω cm² was measured after contacts were repatterned with an Al layer to reduce the effect of a high metal sheet resistance. Ti/Al and Ta/Al contacts encapsulated under vacuum in quartz tubes showed a significant increase in contact resistivity after aging for five days at 600°C. Cross section transmission electron microscopy micrographs and electrical measurements of aged samples indicate that the increased contact resistivity is primarily the result of degradation of the metal layers. Minimal reactions at the metal/GaN interface of aged samples were observed.     

Correlation of the electrical properties with interface crystallography in the Ti/3C-SiC system

Characterizations were performed to determine the properties of Ti contacts to 3C-SiC. Both carbides and silicides were studied carefully following heat treatments from 600 to 1000°C. The peak associated with silicides in the Auger Si spectrum is identified. Structural and chemical analyses using Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction revealed how the electrical properties of the contacts correlate with the interface chemistry. It is found that the crystalline C49 TiSi₂ formed at the interface is closely related to the lowering in the contact resistance. The barrier height decreases from 0.53 eV for as-deposited films to 0.44 eV with annealing. The contacts maintained stable electrical characteristics after annealing at 600°C for extended periods of time.     

Development of Al-free ohmic contact to n-GaN

We have investigated the electrical properties and interfacial reactions of the Si/Ti-based ohmic contacts to Si-doped n-GaN grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition and the electrical properties were related to the material reactions. Si/Ti contact system was selected because Ti silicides have a low work function comparable to Al and also Si was used widely as an n-type dopant. As the annealing temperature increased, the specific contact resistance of Si/Ti-based ohmic contacts decreased and showed minimum contact decreased and showed minimum contact resistance as low as 3.86 10^?6 cm² after annealing at 900°C for 3 min under N₂ ambient. Our experimental results show that the ohmic behavior of Si/Ti-based contact, were attributed to the low barrier height of Ti-silicide/GaN interface, which was formed through the interfacial reaction between Si and Ti layers. In order to clarify the current conduction mechanism of Si/Ti-based contact, temperature dependent contact resistance measurement was carried out for Au(1000 Å)/Ti(400 Å)/Si(1500 Å)/Ti(150 Å) contact system after annealing at 700°C for 3 min. The contact resistance of Si/Ti-based ohmic contact decreased exponentially with the measuring temperature and so it can be concluded that current flows over the low barrier height by thermionic emission.     

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.     

Ohmic contacts to n-type GaN

Ohmic contacts to n-GaN using Ag, Au, TiN, Au/Ti, Au/Mo/Ti, and Au/Si/Ti have been studied. The Fermi level of GaN appears to be unpinned, and metals and compounds with work functions less than the electron affinity resulted in ohmic contacts. Reactively sputter deposited TiN was ohmic as deposited. However, Au/Ti, Au/Mo/Ti, and Au/Si/Ti required heat treatments to form ohmic contacts, with the best being an RTA at 900°C. Ag and Au were shown to diffuse across the GaN surface at T>500°C; therefore, they are unstable, poor ohmic contact metallizations as single metals. The other contact schemes were thermally stable up to 500°C for times of 30 min.     

GaN紫外探测器的Ti/Al接触的电学特性

在非故意掺杂的和掺Si的GaN薄膜上蒸镀Ti(24nm)/Al(nm)薄膜,氮气环境下400～800℃范围内进行退火。实验结果表明,在非故意掺杂的样品上,随退火温度的升高,肖特基势垒高度下降,理想因子升高,表面状况逐渐变差,600℃退火形成较低接触电阻的欧姆接触,比接触电阻率为3.03×10-4Ωcm2,而载流子浓度为5.88×1018cm-3的掺Si的样品未退火就形成欧姆接触,比接触电阻可达到4.03×10-4Ωcm2。     

Ohmic contact using the Si nano-interlayer for undoped-AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Excellent ohmic characteristics for undoped-AlGaN/GaN heterostructures have been achieved by using a Si nano-interlayer: a 1-nm Si layer has been evaporated followed by Ti/Al/Mo/Au evaporation. A contact transfer resistance of 0.18 Ω-mm and a specific contact resistivity of 1 × 10⁻⁶ Ω-cm² have been achieved along with excellent surface morphology at an optimized annealing temperature (800°C). Both ohmic contact characteristics and surface morphology are significantly better than those obtained without the Si nano-interlayer. Auger depth profiles and temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics were investigated to understand ohmic formation. It is suggested that titanium silicide formation at the interface during rapid thermal annealing lowers the barrier height and enhances thermionic emission current.     

Processing and reconstruction effects on Al-GaAs(100) barrier heights

We have used low-energy electron diffraction, soft x-ray photoemission, and cathodoluminescence (CLS) spectroscopies to investigate the effects of the GaAs(100) surface geometry and composition on the formation of electrically active interface states at Al-GaAs(100) contacts. Clean GaAs(100) surfaces in the 350 to 620°C annealing temperature range undergo large compositional, structural, and electronic changes with temperature. Aluminum thin film deposition induces new discrete deep level CLS features between ∼0.80 and 1.20 eV photon energy, whose properties depend sensitively and systematically on surface annealing temperature and/or reconstruction. Fermi level (E_F) stabilization energies at these interfaces span the range from 0.58 eV above the valence band maximum (E_v) for an arsenic-rich starting surface to 0.46 eV above E_v for a gallium-rich starting surface. Correlation between the aluminum-induced deep level energies and the interface E_F position suggests an important role of localized bandgap states in determining the interface barrier height. The sensitivity of these states to starting surface composition and reconstruction may open new possibilities for tailoring Schottky barrier properties.     

Nanopatterned Contacts to GaN

The effect of nanoscale patterning using a self-organized porous anodic alumina (PAA) mask on the electrical properties of ohmic and Schottky contacts to n-GaN was investigated with the aim of evaluating this approach as a method for reducing the specific contact resistance of ohmic contacts to GaN. The electrical characteristics of contacts to these nanopatterned GaN samples were compared with contacts to planar, chemically prepared (“as-grown”) GaN samples and reactive ion etched (RIE) GaN films without any patterning. The specific contact resistivities to unintentionally doped n-GaN using a Ti/Al bilayer metallization were determined to be 7.4 × 10⁻³ Ω cm² for the RIE sample and 7.0 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm² for the PAA patterned sample. Schottky metal contacts with Pt and Ni were prepared on the three samples to validate the effects of RIE and nanopatterning on electrical behavior. The effective barrier height was decreased and the reverse current was increased significantly in the PAA patterned sample. The radius of curvature of the nanoscale corrugation in the patterned interface was smaller than the depletion width. The reduction of the depletion width at sharp corners enhanced the local tunneling current, reducing the specific contact resistivity and decreasing the effective barrier height. These results suggest that nanopatterning with PAA on GaN can significantly lower the contact resistance.     

Effects of vacuum annealing on electrical properties of GaN contacts

To understand formation and deterioration mechanisms of Ta/Ti ohmic contacts that were previously developed for p-GaN, the electrical properties of the Ta/Ti contacts, which were deposited on undoped GaN substrates and subsequently annealed in vacuum (where a slash (/) sign indicates the deposition sequence), were studied. The Ta/Ti contacts displayed good ohmic behavior after annealing at a temperature of 800°C for 10 min in vacuum, although the undoped GaN substrates were used. However, deterioration of the present ohmic contacts was observed during room-temperature storage. These contact properties were similar to those observed in the Ta/Ti contacts prepared on p-GaN. Hall-effect measurements revealed that thin n-type conductive layers were found to form on surfaces of both the undoped GaN and p-GaN substrates after annealing at 800°C in vacuum.     

Annealing and Measurement Temperature Dependence of W<Subscript>2</Subscript>B- and W<Subscript>2</Subscript>B<Subscript>5</Subscript>-Based Rectifying Contacts to <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-GaN

Schottky contact formation on p-GaN using W₂B/Pt/Au and W₂B₅/Pt/Au metallization schemes was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), current-voltage (I-V), and Auger electron spectroscopy measurements. The Schottky barrier height (SBH) determined from XPS is 2.71 eV and 2.87 eV for as-deposited W₂B- and W₂B₅-based contacts, respectively. By comparison, fitting of the I-V curves using the thermionic field emission model gives unphysical SBHs > 4 eV due to the presence of an interfacial layer acting as an additional barrier to carrier transport. Upon annealing to ∼600–700°C, the diodes show slight deterioration in rectifying behavior due to the onset of metallurgical reactions with the GaN. The experimental dependence of the reverse leakage current on bias and measurement temperature is inconsistent with both thermionic emission and thermionic field emission models, suggesting that leakage must originate from other mechanisms such as surface leakage or generation in the depletion layer through deep-level defects.     

High resolution physical analysis of ohmic contact formation at GaN-HEMT devices

A low ohmic contact resistance is a key request on AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices especially when dealing with higher frequency applications. In such a GaN material system very high annealing temperatures of up to 900 °C are frequently necessary to achieve low ohmic resistance. It is known that high annealing temperatures could reduce electrical performance and reliability of the devices. Therefore, low contact resistances at reduced annealing temperatures are beneficial. In the present work a special SiCl₄ plasma treatment was applied prior to the ohm metallisation resulting in sufficiently low ohmic resistances at a significantly reduced anneal temperature of 750 °C. High resolution physical analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and time of flight secondary mass spectroscopy (TOFSIMS) have been performed to understand the structural and chemical differences between the treated ohmic contacts compared to contacts processed under standard conditions. An advanced preparation technique was developed to get access to the reaction interfaces for TOFSIMS analysis from backside. It could be shown that the SiCl₄ treated samples reveal less impurities/contaminants on the ohmic metal–GaN/AlGaN interface and a different metal semiconductor alloying. The diffusion of metals like Al and Au into the semiconductor substrate was detected at the front of the TiN forming reaction.     

Electrical characteristics of thermally stable Ru and Ru/Au ohmic contacts to surface-treated p-type GaN

The electrical and thermal properties of Ru and Ru/Au ohmic contacts on two-step-surface-treated p-GaN have been investigated using current-voltage (I–V) measurements and Auger electron spectroscopy. It is shown that annealing at 700°C for 2 min in a flowing N₂ atmosphere improves the I–V characteristics of the contacts. For example, the annealed Ru and Ru/Au schemes produce a specific contact resistance of 3.4 (±0.9)×10⁻³ and 1.2 (±1.1)×10⁻³ Ωcm², respectively. It is also shown that annealing results in a large reduction (by ∼100 meV) in the Schottky barrier heights of the Ru and Ru/Au contacts, compared to the as-deposited ones. The electrical properties of the two-step-surface-treated Ru/Au contacts are compared with those of the conventionally treated contacts.     

The effect of heat treatment on Au Schottky contacts on β-SiC

Thermally stable gold/beta-silicon carbide (β-SiC) Schottky barriers were successfully fabricated by electron-beam evaporation of gold films on appropriately prepared sample surfaces. It was found that the forward current-voltage characteristics of the as-deposited contacts were exponential over at least six orders of magnitude, the ideality factor n was in the range n = 1.5 ± 0.2, and the barrier height φBwas ≃ 1.2 eV. The forward turn-on voltage was 0.6-1.0 V, and, in the reverse direction, soft breakdown occurred in the range 8-10 V. These contacts remained almost unaltered by a 1-h heat treatment at 300°C in argon, and were still rectifying after further heat treatments, first at 500°C for 30 min, and then for one more hour, again at 500°C, but after a final 30-min, 700°C heat treatment, the contacts degraded and showed ohmic behavior. Auger spectroscopy was applied to study the Au-β-SiC interface, both as-grown and after annealing. A gradual outdiffusion of Si was observed, which became more prominent at higher annealing temperatures. However, the SiC interface was found to be an effective barrier to Au diffusion into the semiconductor.     

Electrical properties and interface chemistry in the Ti/3C-SiCsystem

Characterizations were performed to determine the properties of Ti contacts on 3C-SiC. Both titanium carbides and titanium silicides were studied carefully following heat treatments from 600 to 1000°C. The peak associated with titanium silicides in Auger Si spectrum is identified. Structural and chemical analyzes using AES, XPS, and XRD revealed how the electrical properties of the contacts correlate with the interface chemistry. It is found that while the carbide improves the ohmic behavior of the contacts, the cubic structure disilicide C49 TiSi ₂ formed at the interface at above 700°C is closely related to the lowering in the contact resistance. The barrier height decreases from 0.53 eV for as-deposited films to 0.44 eV due to annealing. The contacts maintained stable electrical characteristics after annealing at 600°C for extended periods of time     

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.     

Thermally induced variation in barrier height and ideality factor of Ni/Au contacts to p-GaN

In this paper, we describe the change in barrier heights (ϕ_B) and ideality factors (n) of Ni/Au contacts to p-GaN determined from current-voltage measurements as a result of (a) rapid thermal annealing between 400–700°C under flowing nitrogen, and (b) testing at temperatures of 20–300°C. The lowest barrier height and ideality factor values were obtained from samples annealed at 500–600°C. These results provide supporting evidence that thermal processing helps to remove contaminants at the contact-GaN interface, thus decreasing effective barrier height and consequently, contact resistance.