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In this study, we investigate the local structure of aluminum (Al) in a comprehensive series of AlxGa1−xN epilayers, where the Al concentration spans from the dilute limit to 100%. We analyze grazing incidence Al K-edge tender x-ray absorption spectroscopy data using both linear combination fitting based on reference limit spectra and full quantitative analysis. The results indicate deviations from random cation distribution with varying signs within the explored concentration range. Additionally, we observe a reduction in cationic interatomic distances over a wide concentration range, which contrasts with some previous studies conducted at hard x-ray absorption edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beta phase gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) is emerging as a promising material for space applications due to its unique properties and potential high performance in extreme environments. In this work, we systematically study the impact of β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) under a high fluence neutron irradiation to explore the degradation mechanism of the devices. After irradiated by neutrons with an average energy of 1–2 MeV and a dose rate of 1.3 × 1012 cm−2 s−1, SBDs with a homoepitaxial layer suffered serious performance degradation. The main manifestation of this degradation was a substantial increase in on-resistance, which rose from 3.9 to 3.5 × 108 mΩ·cm2 under the aforementioned irradiation conditions. The appearance of amorphous/polycrystalline striped lattice damage in the epitaxial layer as well as the presence of deep-level defects caused by oxygen vacancies are factors related to this phenomenon. The simulation revealed that the capture reaction of neutrons and Ga elements is the primary cause of neutron irradiation. This reaction generates high-energy beta- particles (β-particles) resulting in the formation of defects. This paper reveals the degradation mechanism of β-Ga2O3 SBDs under neutron irradiation and provides a possible design roadmap for radiation-resistant β-Ga2O3 power devices. Moreover, a high-temperature oxygen annealing process was implemented, which proved to be in restoring the device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multichannel high electron mobility transistor (MC-HEMT) heterostructures are one of the choices for improved power performance of GaN HEMTs. By comparing the experimentally obtained two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) concentration of unintentionally doped (UID) AlGaN/GaN MC-HEMTs with simulated 2DEG concentration, we hypothesized that hole trap(s) exist at the buried GaN/AlGaN interfaces, which act as sources of 2DEG in UID MC-HEMT heterostructures. Furthermore, these hole traps stop the Fermi level from cutting the valence band at GaN/AlGaN interfaces, which in turn precludes the generation of parallel two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in the MC-HEMT. However, no experimental report is present as a proof for the existence of such a hole trap in MC-HEMT heterostructures. In this study, a capacitance–conductance method on single and dual channel HEMTs revealed traps with higher time constant of 19–28.7 μs exclusively for the dual channel HEMT heterostructure. These traps are observed at the buried GaN/AlGaN interface of the dual channel HEMT; hence, they are attributed to possible hole traps at this interface. By conducting systematic deep level transient spectroscopy measurements, the existence of hole traps is confirmed at the buried GaN/AlGaN interface with an activation energy of 717 meV and a capture cross section of 1.3 × 10−14 cm2. This experimental evidence of the existence of hole traps at the GaN channel/AlGaN interface further supports our claim that these hole traps act as the source of 2DEG in UID MC-HEMTs and that buried parallel 2DHG channels do not exist in MC-HEMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduced thermal budget is required for back-end-of-line (BEOL) integration of application specific functionality into the multilevel metal stack of a processor "substrate." We report 400 °C BEOL-compatible Ge-on-Si growth (LT Ge) that is epitaxial and single crystalline with a defect density similar to high temperature growth and a small 0.05% tensile strain. Room temperature methanol–iodine passivation is employed pre-growth in lieu of the typical 800 °C oxide removal step. Undoped LT Ge exhibits p-type conductivity initially and n-type conductivity conversion upon annealing. Hall effect measurements following post growth heat treatment between 400 and 600 °C reveal an acceptor removal reaction that follows first-order kinetics with an activation energy of 1.7 ± 0.5 eV and a pre-exponential factor of 2.3 × 10 7 s−1 consistent with a point defect, diffusion limited process. We also observe that 90° sessile dislocations identified via transmission electron microscopy are annihilated in the same temperature regime, which is evidence for point defect-mediated climb. Ensuring high-quality epitaxy by characterizing defect reactions in a BEOL-compatible Ge-on-Si process flow is key to enabling vertical integration of optical interconnects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we investigate the effective background charge density in intrinsic Si0.06Ge0.94/Ge plastically relaxed heterostructures deposited on Si(001). Hall effect measurements and capacitance–voltage profiling reveal a p-type conductivity in the nominally intrinsic layer with a hole concentration in the mid 1015 cm−3 range at temperatures between 50 and 200 K. In view of the carrier freeze out that we observe below 50 K, we attribute the origin of these carriers to the ionization of shallow acceptor-like defect states above the valence band. In addition, one dominant hole trap located at mid-gap position is found by deep level transient spectroscopy. Carrier trapping kinetics measurements can be interpreted as due to a combination of point defects, likely trapped in the strain field of extended defects, i.e., the threading dislocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, threshold voltage instability of normally off p-GaN high electron mobility transistors has been investigated by monitoring the gate current density during a device on-state. The origin of gate current variations under stress has been ascribed to charge trapping occurring at different interfaces in the metal/p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN system. In particular, depending on the stress bias level, electrons (VG < 6 V) or holes (VG > 6 V) are trapped, causing a positive or negative threshold voltage shift ΔVTH, respectively. By monitoring the gate current variations at different temperatures, activation energies associated with the electrons and holes trapping could be determined and correlated with the presence of nitrogen (electron traps) or gallium (hole traps) vacancies. Moreover, the electrical measurements suggested the generation of a new electron-trap upon long-time bias stress, associated with the creation of crystallographic dislocation-like defects extending across different interfaces (p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN) of the gate stack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report two-photon excited ultrafast carrier trapping and recombination in n-type β-Ga2O3 crystals by using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The broadband absorption spectra arising from the defect are polarization dependent, especially, two absorption peaks can be observed by subtracting the absorption transients under two probe polarizations. We attribute these observed defect-related absorption features to optical transitions from the valence band to different charge states of a native defect (such as gallium vacancies). A model for carrier capture by multilevel of a single defect is proposed to interpret the data, wherein holes are captured more efficiently than electrons by the defects, and the absorption cross sections for the defects are at least ten times larger than that for free carriers. Our results reveal the potential applications of β-Ga2O3 in ultrafast and broadband optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures are a promising platform for quantum devices based on mesoscopic and topological superconductivity. In these structures, a semiconductor must be in close proximity to a superconductor and form an Ohmic contact. This can be accommodated in narrow bandgap semiconductors, such as InAs, where the surface Fermi level is positioned close to the conduction band. In this work, we study the structural properties of near-surface InAs quantum wells and find that surface morphology is closely connected to low-temperature transport, where electron mobility is highly sensitive to the growth temperature of the underlying graded buffer layer. By introducing an In0.81Al0.19As capping layer, we show that we change the surface Fermi level pinning of the In0.81Al0.19As thin film as compared to the In0.81Ga0.19As, giving rise to a tuning of the Fermi level in the InAs layer. Experimental measurements show a strong agreement with Schrödinger–Poisson calculations of the electron density, suggesting the conduction band energy of the In0.81Ga0.19As and In0.81Al0.19As surface is pinned to 40 and 309 meV above the Fermi level, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron traps in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were studied by combining theoretical and experimental methods. Energy levels about EC-0.9 eV due to irradiation are identified by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Two electron traps, H1 (EC-0.63 eV) and H2 (EC-0.9 eV), were observed in the DLTS spectra. H1 was produced in device or material manufacturing, and H2 was caused by displacement damage. First, we reported that the signal peak of H2 can contribute from three defects labeled H2-1, H2-2, and H2-3 with energies EC-0.77 eV, EC-0.9 eV, and EC-0.98 eV, respectively. According to defect migration temperature and first principles calculation results, it is found that different configurations of di-nitrogen vacancy structures are the source of EC-0.77 eV and EC-0.9 eV signals. The defect of EC-0.98 eV is more stable at high temperatures, which may be related to gallium vacancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsed laser deposition is employed to fabricate as-grown amorphous and post-growth annealed crystalline β-Ga2O3 films. The films annealed at temperatures above 600 °C are found to exhibit a pure monolithic phase with a bandgap of 4.7 eV. The thermally activated donor ionization and dielectric relaxation of these films are systematically investigated by temperature-dependent DC and AC conductivity measurements, and complex electric modulus analysis. A donor level at ∼180 meV below the conduction band edge and a small polaron tunneling (SPT) relaxation with an activation energy of ∼180 meV are observed in the as-grown amorphous Ga2O3 film but not in the monolithic β-Ga2O3 film. The SPT occurs between donor sites with its thermal relaxation of polarization being associated with the thermal ionization of the donor state. Thermal annealing of the amorphous films removes the 180 meV donors as well the corresponding SPT relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a deliberate etching-based top-down approach is proposed to fabricate the GaN nanorod (NR) Schottky barrier diode (SBD). As a key step during the fabrication, the impact of the wet-etching process on device performance is systematically studied. By virtue of the reduced surface states at the sidewall, the performance of NR SBD with the wet-etching process is substantially improved, delivering a forward turn-on voltage of 0.65 V, a current density of ∼10 kA/cm2 at 3 V, an ideality factor of 1.03, an ON/OFF current ratio of ∼1010, and no severe current collapse, along with a reverse breakdown voltage of 772 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the role of threading dislocation densities (TDD) in the low density regime on the vertical transport in Si0.06Ge0.94 heterostructures integrated on Si(001). The use of unintentionally doped Si0.06Ge0.94 layers enables the study of the impact of grown-in threading dislocations (TD) without interaction with processing-induced defects originating, e.g., from dopant implantation. The studied heterolayers, while equal in composition, the degree of strain relaxation, and the thickness feature three different values for the TDD as 3 × 106, 9 × 106, and 2 × 107 cm−2. Current–voltage measurements reveal that leakage currents do not scale linearly with TDD. The temperature dependence of the leakage currents suggests a strong contribution of field-enhanced carrier generation to the current transport with the trap-assisted tunneling via TD-induced defect states identified as the dominant transport mechanism at room temperature. At lower temperatures and at high electric fields, direct band-to-band tunneling without direct interactions with defect levels becomes the dominating type of transport. Leakage currents related to emission from mid-gap traps by the Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) generation are observed at higher temperatures (>100 °C). Here, we see a reduced contribution coming from SRH in our material, featuring the minimal TDD (3 × 106 cm−2), which we attribute to a reduction in point defect clusters trapped in the TD strain fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the design, epitaxy, and performance characteristics of deep ultraviolet (UV) AlGaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). By combining the tunnel junction and polarization-engineered AlGaN electron blocking layer, a maximum external quantum efficiency and wall-plug efficiency of 0.35% and 0.21%, respectively, were measured for devices operating at ∼245 nm, which are over one order of magnitude higher than previously reported tunnel junction devices at this wavelength. Severe efficiency droop, however, was measured at very low current densities (∼0.25 A/cm2), which, together with the transverse magnetic (TM) polarized emission, is identified to be the primary limiting factors for the device performance. Detailed electrical and optical analysis further shows that the observed efficiency droop is largely due to an electrical effect instead of an optical phenomenon. Our studies suggest that AlGaN deep UV LEDs with efficiency comparable to InGaN blue-emitting quantum wells can be potentially achieved if issues related to electron overflow and TM polarized emission are effectively addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes from metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)-grown epitaxial films are reported in this paper for high-power application devices. The Schottky diode, fabricated with a field termination structure, showed a low differential specific on-resistance of 0.67 mΩ cm2. Furthermore, the MOCVD-grown β-Ga2O3 vertical Schottky diodes exhibited a punch-through breakdown and a higher Baliga's figure-of-merit compared to those from other epitaxial growth methods of similar drift layer thickness. This suggests that the MOCVD growth, supporting high-quality epitaxy, can be promising for high-performance β-Ga2O3-based high-power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate Ga1−xInxP compositionally graded buffers (CGBs) grown on GaAs with lattice constants between GaAs and InP by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Growth rates were up to ∼1 μm/min, and the threading dislocation density (TDD) was as low as 1.0 × 106 cm−2. We studied the effect of the substrate offcut direction, growth rate, and strain grading rate on the CGB defect structure. We compared the effect of a "dynamic" grading style, which creates compositional interfaces via mechanical transfer of a substrate between two growth chambers, vs "static" grading where the CGB grows in a single chamber. Dynamic grading yielded smoother grades with higher relaxation, but TDD was not significantly different between the two styles. The substrate offcut direction was the most important factor for obtaining CGBs with low defect density. (001) substrates offcut toward (111)B yielded smoother CGBs with lower TDD compared to CGBs grown on substrates offcut toward (111)A. Transmission electron microscopy of static and dynamic CGBs grown on A- and B-offcuts only found evidence of phase separation in a static A-offcut CGB, indicating that the B-offcut limits phase separation, which, in turn, keeps TDD low. Reductions in growth rate led to the appearance of CuPt-type atomic ordering, which affected the distribution of dislocations on the active glide planes but did not alter TDD significantly. Higher growth rates led to smoother CGBs and did not appreciably increase TDD as otherwise predicted by steady-state models of plastic relaxation. These results show HVPE's promise for lattice-mismatched applications and low-cost InP virtual substrates on GaAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) on Schottky diodes, we investigated defect levels below the conduction band minima (Ec) in Czochralski-grown unintentionally doped (UID) and vertical gradient freeze-grown Zr-doped β-Ga2O3 crystals. In UID crystals with an electron concentration of 1017 cm−3, we observe levels at 0.18 eV and 0.46 eV in addition to the previously reported 0.86 (E2) and 1.03 eV (E3) levels. For 1018 cm−3 Zr-doped Ga2O3, signatures at 0.30 eV (E15) and 0.71 eV (E16) are present. For the highest Zr doping of 5 × 1018 cm−3, we observe only one signature at 0.59 eV. Electric field-enhanced emission rates are demonstrated via increasing the reverse bias during measurement. The 0.86 eV signature in the UID sample displays phonon-assisted tunneling enhanced thermal emission and is consistent with the widely reported E2 (FeGa) defect. The 0.71 eV (E16) signature in the lower-Zr-doped crystal also exhibits phonon-assisted tunneling emission enhancement. Taking into account that the high doping in the Zr-doped diodes also increases the electric field, we propose that the 0.59 eV signature in the highest Zr-doped sample likely corresponds to the 0.71 eV signature in lower-doped samples. Our analysis highlights the importance of testing for and reporting on field-enhanced emission, especially the electric field present during DLTS and other characterization experiments on β-Ga2O3 along with the standard emission energy, cross section, and lambda-corrected trap density. This is important because of the intended use of β-Ga2O3 in high-field devices and the many orders of magnitude of possible doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of growth temperature on the distribution (concentrations and energy levels) of individual defect states in metal organic chemical vapor deposition-grown, Si-doped β-Ga2O3 is investigated. A combination of deep level thermal transient/optical spectroscopies and admittance spectroscopy (AS) was used to quantitatively monitor the evolution of trap states throughout the ∼4.8 eV bandgap. States are observed at EC-0.12 eV by AS; at EC-0.4 eV by deep level transient spectroscopy; and at EC-1.2 eV, EC-2.0 eV, and EC-4.4 eV by deep level optical spectroscopy, and showed different dependencies on growth temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 920 °C. The EC-0.4 eV and EC-4.4 eV states both displayed a strong reduction in its concentration with increasing growth temperature, whereas no consistent trends were seen for the states at EC-1.2 eV and 2.0 eV over the temperature range studied. In contrast, the concentration of the EC-0.12 eV trap monotonically increased over the same range of increasing growth temperature, which tracked a slight, monotonic increase in overall Si concentration measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy with growth temperature. The opposing trends in concentrations for some of these states shifted the dominant deep level in the bandgap from the EC-4.4 eV state at the lowest growth temperature explored here to the EC-0.12 eV state at the highest growth temperature. The shifting dominance of various bandgap states can have important ramifications on β-Ga2O3 device behavior, and the different trends for these deep levels cannot only guide further growth optimization but also advance the identification of their physical sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of BxGa1−xP alloys by hybrid solid/gas-source molecular beam epitaxy, with B supplied via the BCl3 gas precursor, is demonstrated. Compositional control ranging from pure GaP to B0.045Ga0.955P has thus far been achieved. Slightly tensile-strained B0.031Ga0.969P grown on nearly pseudomorphic, compressively strained GaP/Si was used to produce an effectively strain-free (0.06% tensile misfit at growth temperature) 160 nm total III–V thickness BxGa1−xP/Si virtual substrate with a threading dislocation density of <3 × 105 cm−2, at least 4× lower than comparable GaP/Si control samples. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals that subsequent GaP overgrowth undergoes epilayer relaxation via dislocation introduction and glide at the upper GaP/B0.031Ga0.969P interface, rather than the lower GaP/Si interface, confirming the strain-balanced nature of the B0.031Ga0.969P/GaP/Si structure and its potential use as a III–V virtual substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements on β- Ga 2 O 3 crystals reveal the presence of three defect signatures labeled E 2 a , E 2 b , and E 3 with activation energies at around 0.66 eV, 0.73 eV, and 0.95 eV below the conduction band edge. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry, a correlation between the defect concentration associated with E 3 and the Ti concentration present in the samples was found. Particularly, it is found that E 3 is the dominant Ti-related defect in β- Ga 2 O 3 and is associated with a single Ti atom. This finding is further corroborated by hybrid functional calculations that predict Ti substituting on an octahedral Ga site, denoted as Ti GaII , to be a good candidate for E 3 . Moreover, the deep level transient spectroscopy results show that the level previously labeled E 2 and attributed to Fe substituting on a gallium site ( Fe Ga ) consists of two overlapping signatures labeled E 2 a and E 2 b . We tentatively assign E 2 a and E 2 b to Fe substituting for Ga on a tetrahedral or an octahedral site, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied deep levels in quartz-free hydride-vapor-phase epitaxy (QF-HVPE)-grown homoepitaxial n-type GaN layers within which three electron and eight hole traps were detected. The dominant electron and hole traps observed in the QF-HVPE-grown GaN layers were E3 (EC − 0.60 eV) and H1 (EV + 0.87 eV), respectively. We found that the E3 trap density of QF-HVPE-grown GaN (∼1014 cm−3) was comparable with that of MOVPE-grown GaN layers, whereas the H1 trap density of QF-HVPE-grown GaN (∼1014 cm−3) was much smaller than that of an MOVPE-grown GaN layer with a low-residual-carbon growth condition. A detailed analysis of the QF-HVPE-grown GaN layers revealed that the H1 trap density is almost equal to the carbon impurity concentration and other impurities that compensate the Si donors besides the carbon impurity were hardly detected in the QF-HVPE-grown GaN layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scanning probe deep-level transient spectroscopy (SP-DLTS) is applied to cross-sectioned, fully processed, commercially sourced AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) and high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) biased in situ. The SBD and HEMT structures had been specially designed to allow two- and three-terminal biasing after cross-sectioning. The cross-sectioning procedure exposes electrically active regions throughout the length and depth of the devices while also preserving electrical functionality. Spatially resolved SP-DLTS surface potential transients (SPTs) measured on the appropriately cross-sectioned faces of the devices reveal the presence of two traps in the GaN buffer layer which are shown to be consistent with traps detected in macroscopic deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements performed on an intact AlGaN/GaN SBD made at the same time as the HEMT device. This indicates that, for an appropriate cross-sectioning process, the cross-sectioned surface does not screen or mask defects in the bulk GaN from the probe tip. SP-DLTS maps collected over the cross-sectioned faces in active device regions also reveal the spatial variation in trapping-induced SPTs. These measurements demonstrate an avenue for exploring the energies, concentrations, and spatial distributions of traps located throughout GaN-based devices with potential applications to other material and device systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrier removal rates and electron and hole trap densities in β-Ga2O3 films grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and irradiated with 18 MeV α-particles and 20 MeV protons were measured and compared to the results of modeling. The electron removal rates for proton and α-radiation were found to be close to the theoretical production rates of vacancies, whereas the concentrations of major electron and hole traps were much lower, suggesting that the main process responsible for carrier removal is the formation of neutral complexes between vacancies and shallow donors. There is a concurrent decrease in the diffusion length of nonequilibrium charge carriers after irradiation, which correlates with the increase in density of the main electron traps E2* at Ec − (0.75–0.78) eV, E3 at Ec − (0.95–1.05) eV, and E4 at Ec − 1.2 eV. The introduction rates of these traps are similar for the 18 MeV α-particles and 20 MeV protons and are much lower than the carrier removal rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep electron and hole traps in 10 MeV proton irradiated high-quality β-Ga2O3 films grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) on bulk β-Ga2O3 substrates were measured by deep level transient spectroscopy with electrical and optical injection, capacitance-voltage profiling in the dark and under monochromatic irradiation, and also electron beam induced current. Proton irradiation caused the diffusion length of charge carriers to decrease from 350–380 µm in unirradiated samples to 190 µm for a fluence of 1014 cm-2, and this was correlated with an increase in density of hole traps with optical ionization threshold energy near 2.3 eV. These defects most likely determine the recombination lifetime in HVPE β-Ga2O3 epilayers. Electron traps at Ec-0.75 eV and Ec-1.2 eV present in as-grown samples increase in the concentration after irradiation and suggest that these centers involve native point defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In carbon-doped GaN (GaN:C) buffers used in a GaN-on-Si technology, the buffer is embedded in between transition and channel layers. This makes the analysis of buffer properties difficult due to e.g., carrier injection from or potential drop at these adjacent layers. Here, we analyze capacitance-and current-voltage characteristics of 200–300 nm thick GaN:C ([C]=1019 cm-3) layers which are embedded between a top metal electrode and bottom n-doped GaN (n-GaN). Such structures allow a better potential control in GaN:C and thus determination of the band diagram quantitatively. The accumulation of negative charge (concentration up to 6×1017 cm-3) with bias is observed in GaN:C at both polarities. For biases Vappl<+1.7V at the top electrode, negative charges accumulate in GaN:C near to its interface with n-GaN so that GaN:C exhibits no potential drop and blocks leakage current. For Vappl>+1.7 V, accumulated negative charges in GaN:C raise an energy barrier of ~1.1 eV for electron injection from n-GaN to GaN:C. This causes a potential drop in GaN:C leading to a significant leakage current increase. The Fermi level pinning in GaN:C at a commonly referred acceptor at EV+0.7(±0.2) eV is extracted only from electrostatic considerations. The occupancy change of carbon acceptors is attributed to trapping processes where the dislocation-related conductive paths are supposed to be involved in carrier transport from the top metal electrode to the carbon defect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic study of Schottky barriers fabricated on (010) β-Ga2O3 substrates is reported. Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) and current transport modes were analyzed using a combination of current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and internal photoemission (IPE) measurements for Pd, Ni, Pt and Au Schottky diodes. Diodes fabricated for each metal choice displayed nearly ideal I-V characteristics with room temperature ideality factors ranging from 1.03 to 1.09, reverse leakage currents below detection limits and thermionic emission as the dominant current transport mode for Ni, Pt and Pd. The SBH values varied depending on the metal choice, ranging from 1.27 V for Pd and 1.54 V for Ni to 1.58 V for Pt and 1.71 V for Au, as determined using IPE measurements. Close agreement was observed between these IPE-determined SBH values and the barrier height values from I-V and C-V measurements for the Ni, Pd and Pt Schottky barriers. In contrast, for Au, a lack of general agreement was seen between the SBH measurement methods, the trends of which appear to be consistent with the presence of an inhomogeneous barrier that implies a more complex interface for the Au Schottky barrier. The dependence of the SBH on metal work function suggests that metal-(010) β-Ga2O3 interfaces are not fully pinned, and this assertion was supported by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy measurements made on this sample set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unintentionally doped (UID) AlGaN epilayers graded over Al compositions of 80%–90% and 80%–100% were grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy and were electrically characterized using contactless sheet resistance (Rsh) and capacitance-voltage (C–V) measurements. Strong electrical conductivity in the UID graded AlGaN epilayers resulted from polarization-induced doping and was verified by the low resistivity of 0.04 Ω cm for the AlGaN epilayer graded over 80%–100% Al mole fraction. A free electron concentration (n) of 4.8 × 1017 cm−3 was measured by C–V for Al compositions of 80%–100%. Average electron mobility (...) was calculated from Rsh and n data for three ranges of Al composition grading, and it was found that UID AlGaN graded from 88%–96% had ... = 509 cm2/V s. The combination of very large band gap energy, high ..., and high n for UID graded AlGaN epilayers make them attractive as a building block for high voltage power electronic devices such as Schottky diodes and field effect transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical performance and characterization of deep levels in vertical GaN P-i-N diodes grown on low threading dislocation density (~104 - 106cm-2) bulk GaN substrates are investigated. The lightly doped n drift region of these devices is observed to be highly compensated by several prominent deep levels detected using deep level optical spectroscopy at Ec-2.13, 2.92, and 3.2 eV. A combination of steady-state photocapacitance and lighted capacitance-voltage profiling indicates the concentrations of these deep levels to be Nt=3 x 1012, 2 x 1015and 5-1014cm-3, respectively. The Ec-2.92 eV level is observed to be the primary compensating defect in as-grown n-type metal-organic chemical vapor deposition GaN, indicating this level acts as a limiting factor for achieving controllably low doping. The device blocking voltage should increase if compensating defects reduce the free carrier concentration of the n drift region. Understanding the incorporation of as-grown and native defects in thick n-GaN is essential for enabling large VBD in the nextgeneration wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices. Thus, controlling the as-grown defects induced by epitaxial growth conditions is critical to achieve blocking voltage capability above 5 kV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the surface photovoltage (SPV) effect in n-GaN layers passivated with various insulators, i.e., Al2O3, SiO2, and SiN for ultraviolet (UV) light detection. We revealed that SPV in SiN/GaN shows markedly different behaviour than in oxide/GaN, i.e., the photo-signal exhibited very fast response (1 s) and recovery (2 s) times, contrary to oxide/GaN, and it was thermally stable up to 523 K. Furthermore, SPV spectra for SiN/GaN showed a sharp cut-off edge directly corresponding to the GaN band gap. We explained these results in terms of the different band structure of SiN/GaN and oxide/GaN junctions. All the observed properties of SPV response from SiN/GaN indicate that this relatively simple system can be applied to sensitive high temperature visible-blind UV detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaAsP on Si tandem cells represent a promising path towards achieving high efficiency while leveraging the Si solar knowledge base and low-cost infrastructure. However, dislocation densities exceeding 108 cm–2 in GaAsP cells on Si have historically hampered the efficiency of such approaches. Here, we report the achievement of low threading dislocation density values of 4.0–4.6×106 cm–2 in GaAsP solar cells on GaP/Si, comparable with more established metamorphic solar cells on GaAs. Our GaAsP solar cells on GaP/Si exhibit high open-circuit voltage and quantum efficiency, allowing them to significantly surpass the power conversion efficiency of previous devices. The results in this work show a realistic path towards dual-junction GaAsP on Si cells with efficiencies exceeding 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of combined current-voltage and capacitance-voltage sweep and transient measurements, we present the effects of forward-bias stress and charge trapping mechanisms at oxide traps in Al2O3/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors grown in-situ by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Two main current-voltage regimes have been identified: a low-field regime characterized by low gate-current and low flat-band voltage instabilities, and a high-field regime triggered for oxide field greater than 3.3 MV/cm and characterized by the onset of parasitic leakage current and positive flat-band shift. In the low-voltage regime, gate current transients convey stress/relaxation kinetics based on a power-law, suggesting that tunneling trapping mechanisms occur at near-interface traps aligned with the GaN conduction-band minimum. In the high-voltage regime, devices experience parasitic conduction mechanisms and enhanced charge-trapping at oxide-traps revealed by very slow recovery transients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements performed on Ni/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes fabricated on unintentionally doped (010) substrates prepared by edge-defined film-fed growth revealed a rich spectrum of defect states throughout the 4.84eV bandgap of β-Ga2O3. Five distinct defect states were detected at EC-0.62eV, 0.82eV, 1.00eV, 2.16eV, and 4.40eV. The Ec-0.82eV and 4.40eV levels are dominant, with concentrations on the order of 1016cm-3. The three DLTS-detected traps at EC -- 0.62 eV, 0.82 eV, and 1.00 eV are similar to traps reported in Czochralski-grown β-Ga2O3, [K. Irmscher et al., J. Appl. Phys. 110, 063720 (2011)], suggesting possibly common sources. The DLOS-detected states at EC -- 2.16 eV and 4.40 eV exhibit significant lattice relaxation effects in their optical transitions associated with strongly bound defects. As a consequence of this study, the Ni/β-Ga2O3 (010) Schottky barrier height was determined to be 1.55 eV, with good consistency achieved between different characterization techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-frequency noise properties of Pt-indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) Schottky diodes at different forward biases are investigated. The IGZO layer and Pt contact were deposited by RF sputtering at room temperature. The diode showed an ideality factor of 1.2 and a barrier height of 0.94 eV. The current noise spectral density exhibited 1/f behavior at low frequencies. The analysis of the current dependency of the noise spectral density revealed that for the as-deposited diode, the noise followed Luo's mobility and diffusivity fluctuation model in the thermionic-emission-limited region and Hooge's empirical theory in the series-resistance-limited region. A low Hooge's constant of 1.4 × 10-9 was found in the space-charge region. In the series-resistance-limited region, the Hooge's constant was 2.2 × 10-5. After annealing, the diode showed degradation in the electrical performance. The interface-trap-induced noise dominated the noise spectrum. By using the random walk model, the interface-trap density was obtained to be 3.6 × 1015 eV-1 cm-2. This work provides a quantitative approach to analyze the properties of Pt-IGZO interfacial layers. These low noise properties are a prerequisite to the use of IGZO Schottky diodes in switch elements in memory devices, photosensors, and mixer diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports on up to 2.9 im lasing at 230 K of InP-based type-I quantum well lasers. This record long wavelength lasing is achieved by applying InP-based Sb-free structures with eight periods of strain-compensated InAs quantum wells grown on metamorphic In0.8Al0.2As template layers. The continuous-wave threshold current density is 797 A/cm² and the idealized extrapolated threshold current density for infinite cavity length is as low as 58 A/cm2 per quantum well at 120 K. This scheme is a promising pathway for extending the wavelength range of type-I quantum well lasers on InP substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality Al2O3 film grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD), with ozone (O3) as oxygen source, is demonstrated for fabrication of normally-off AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs). Significant suppression of Al-O-H and Al-Al bonds in ALD-Al2O3 has been realized by substituting conventional H2O source with O3. A high dielectric breakdown E-field of 8.5 MV/cm and good TDDB behavior are achieved in a gate dielectric stack consisting of 13-nm O3-Al2O3 and 2-nm H2O-Al2O3 interfacial layer on recessed GaN. By using this 15-nm gate dielectric and a high-temperature gate-recess technique, the density of positive bulk/interface charges in normally-off AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs is remarkably suppressed to as low as 0.9 x 1012cm-2, contributing to the realization of normally-off operation with a high threshold voltage of +1.6 V and a low specific ON-resistance RON,sp of 0.49 mΩ cm². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of proton irradiation on the deep level states throughout the Mg-doped p-type GaN bandgap is investigated using deep level transient and optical spectroscopies. Exposure to 1.8 MeV protons of 1 × 1013cm-2 and 3×1013cm-2 fluences not only introduces a trap with an EV + 1.02 eV activation energy but also brings monotonic increases in concentration for as-grown deep states at EV + 0.48 eV, EV + 2.42 eV, EV + 3.00 eV, and EV + 3.28 eV. The non-uniform sensitivities for individual states suggest different physical sources and/or defect generation mechanisms. Comparing with prior theoretical calculations reveals that several traps are consistent with associations to nitrogen vacancy, nitrogen interstitial, and gallium vacancy origins, and thus are likely generated through displacing nitrogen and gallium atoms from the crystal lattice in proton irradiation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present structural and optical studies of AlGaN sections and AlGaN/AlN nanodisks (NDs) in nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The Al-Ga intermixing at Al(Ga)N/GaN interfaces and the chemical inhomogeneity in AlGaN NDs evidenced by scanning transmission electron microscopy are attributed to the strain relaxation process. This interpretation is supported by the three-dimensional strain distribution calculated by minimizing the elastic energy in the structure. The alloy inhomogeneity increases with the Al content, leading to enhanced carrier localization signatures in the luminescence characteristics, i.e., red shift of the emission, s-shaped temperature dependence, and linewidth broadening. Despite these effects, the emission energy of AlGaN/AlN NDs can be tuned in the 240-350 nm range with internal quantum efficiencies around 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic stress tests that help to evaluate the stability and dielectric performance of Al2O3 films under DC bias conditions are reported. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) curves were monitored for changes after subjecting the dielectric film to constant forward and reverse bias stress. Stress tests, along with C-V analysis, are used to evaluate the effect of post deposition annealing on Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) Al2O3 films deposited on GaN. The individual benefits and drawbacks of each film and anneal condition were identified. These suggest that the anneals can be tailored to the unannealed film characteristics to achieve desired improvements in performance. It is found that post deposition annealing in forming gas improves performance under reverse bias stress by reducing the fixed charge and the field in the oxide but does not improve performance under forward bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in situ metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of Al2O3 dielectrics on N-face GaN is reported. The near-interface fixed charges are measured by using capacitance-voltage techniques on a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOSCAP) structure, and the results are compared with those obtained on Ga-face MOSCAPs with the same in situ MOCVD Al2O3 dielectrics. The influence of GaN polarity as well as other possible mechanisms on the formation of fixed charge are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of deep level optical spectroscopy and lighted capacitance voltage profiling has been used to analyze the effect of N into the energy levels close to the valence band of Zn0.9Mg0.1O. Three energy levels at EV+0.47 eV, EV +0.35 eV, and EV+ 0.6 eV are observed in all films with concentrations in the range of 1015-1018 cm-3. The two shallowest traps at EV+0.35 eV and EV+0.16 eV have very large concentrations that scale with the N exposure and are thus potential acceptor levels. In order to correctly quantify the deep level concentrations, a metal-insulator-semiconductor model has been invoked, explaining well the resulting capacitance-voltage curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dependence of deep level defect incorporation in m-plane GaN films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on bulk m-plane GaN substrates as a function of growth temperature (Tg) and Tg ramping method was investigated using deep level optical spectroscopy. Understanding the influence of Tg on GaN deep level incorporation is important for InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) because GaN quantum barrier (QB) layers are grown much colder than thin film GaN to accommodate InGaN QW growth. Deep level spectra of low Tg (800 °C) GaN films grown under QB conditions were compared to deep level spectra of high Tg (1150 °C) GaN. Reducing Tg, increased the defect density significantly (>50×) through introduction of emergent deep level defects at 2.09 eV and 2.9 eV below the conduction band minimum. However, optimizing growth conditions during the temperature ramp when transitioning from high to low Tg substantially reduced the density of these emergent deep levels by approximately 40%. The results suggest that it is important to consider the potential for non-radiative recombination in QBs of LED or LD active regions, and tailoring the transition from high Tg GaN growth to active layer growth can mitigate such non-radiative channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the microstructure and device characteristics of GaAs0.82P0.18 solar cells grown on Si0.20Ge0.80/Si graded buffers. Anti-phase domains (APDs) were largely self-annihilated within the In0.39Ga0.61P initiation layer although a low density of APDs was found to propagate to the surface. A combination of techniques was used to show that the GaAs0.82P0.18 cells have a threading dislocation density of 1.2 ± 0.2 × 107 cm-2. Despite these extended defects, the devices exhibited high open-circuit voltages of 1.10-1.12 V. These results indicate that cascading a GaAs0.82P0.18 top cell with a lower-bandgap Si0.20Ge0.80 cell is a promising approach for high-efficiency dual-junction devices on low-cost Si substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate metamorphic ∼1.7 eV GaAsxP1-x (x = 0.71 - 0.73) solar cells on high-quality GaP/Si templates and compare them to cells co-grown on bulk GaP. Both n+-emitter/p-base and p+-emitter/n-base polarities are explored. Cells with n-type bases demonstrate current-voltage characteristics that are similar to p-type base cells, but with blue-shifted peak quantum efficiencies. Threading dislocation densities for cells on GaP/Si were 0.92 - 1.3 × 107 cm-2, significantly lower than previous reports but higher than cells grown on bulk GaP. An open-circuit voltage of 1.12 V was obtained for a 1.71 eV cell on Si, leading to a promising bandgap-voltage offset of 0.59 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaP/Si heterostructures were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition in which the formation of all heterovalent nucleation-related defects (antiphase domains, stacking faults, and microtwins) were fully and simultaneously suppressed, as observed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This was achieved through a combination of intentional Si(100) substrate misorientation, Si homoepitaxy prior to GaP growth, and GaP nucleation by Ga-initiated atomic layer epitaxy. Unintentional (311) Si surface faceting due to biatomic step-bunching during Si homoepitaxy was observed by atomic force microscopy and TEM and was found to also yield defect-free GaP/Si interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report 2.8 μm emission from compressively strained type-I quantum wells (QWs) grown on InP-based metamorphic InAsxP1-x step-graded buffers. High quality metamorphic graded buffers showed smooth surface morphology and low threading dislocation densities of approximately 2.5 × 106 cm-2. High-resolution x-ray diffraction scans showed strong satellites from multiple quantum wells grown on metamorphic buffers, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed smooth and coherent quantum well interfaces. Room-temperature photoluminescence emission at 2.8 μm with a narrow linewidth (∼50 meV) shows the promise of metamorphic growth for mid-infrared laser diodes on InP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on deep level defect incorporation in n-type m-plane [formula] GaN grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on bulk m-plane GaN substrates. Deep levels were observed at 2.85 eV and 3.31 eV relative to the conduction band minimum. While the energetic distribution of defect states for m-plane GaN was similar to the previous reports of n-type c-plane GaN grown by MOCVD, the deep level densities of the m-plane GaN were significantly lower. The comparatively low defect density in homoepitaxially grown m-plane GaN is attributed to reduced point defect incorporation. In addition to the absence of polarization fields, the low deep level density achieved by homoepitaxial growth on high quality bulk GaN substrates makes m-plane GaN highly attractive for opto-electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of point defects in AlxGa1-xN (x = 0-0.33) films with similar threading dislocation densities were investigated. The epitaxial layers were grown under conditions applicable to laser-diode quantum wells, barriers and waveguide layers. The evolution of deep level defect energy and density were quantitatively tracked versus x using deep level optical spectroscopy. Three defect levels were observed, whose defect density increased with x. The energy level of a defect suspected to be related to the group-III vacancy appeared to track the vacuum level, and a near-valence band defect level deepened with respect to the valence band maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical properties of atomic layer deposited Al2O3/γ-Ga2O3 interface were investigated. We determined the conduction band offset and interface charge density of Al2O3/γ-Ga2O3 interface by analyzing the capacitance-voltage characteristics. The conduction band offset at the Al2O3/γ-Ga2O3 interface was found to be 1.7 eV. A large positive sheet charge density of 3.6×1012 cm-2 is induced at the Al2O3/γ-Ga2O3 interface, which caused a non-zero field of 0.7MV/cm in the Al2O3 under flat-band conditions in the b-Ga2O3. The forward current-voltage characteristics were found to be related to trap-assisted tunneling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early stage degradation of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with different threading dislocation densities (TDDs) submitted to off-state voltage bias stress was studied. It was found that, for the stress conditions used, HEMTs with TDD ∼1010 cm-2 show pronounced degradation in terms of maximum drain current, gate-lag, and trap generation measured by drain current trapping characteristics, a slight degradation in gate leakage was observed also for HEMTs with TDD of ∼108 cm-2, and no significant degradation for devices with TDD in the ∼107 cm-2 range. The results illustrate the importance of TDD for degradation and reliability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an extensive analysis of the properties of the deep level responsible for the degradation of InGaN-based laser diodes. The analysis is based on combined optical measurements and Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) investigation. Results indicate that stress induces a significant increase in threshold current of the devices, which is strongly correlated to the increase in the concentration of a deep level (DL) detected by DLTS. The DL involved in the degradation process is located 0.35-0.45 eV below the conduction band. 2D simulation indicates that degradation occurs within the quantum-well region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schottky diode properties of semitransparent Ag(4 nm)/Au(4 nm) metal stack on In0.2Ga0.8N were investigated and defect characterization was performed using capacitance deep level transient (DLTS) and optical spectroscopy (DLOS). DLTS measurements made on the In0.2Ga0.8N Schottky diodes, which displayed a barrier height of 0.66 eV, revealed the presence of two deep levels located at Ec-0.39 eV and Ec-0.89 eV with nearly identical concentrations of ∼1.2 × 1015 cm-3. Three deeper defect levels were observed by DLOS at Ec-1.45 eV, Ec-1.76 eV, and Ec-2.50 eV with concentrations of 1.3 × 1015cm-3, 3.2 × 1015cm-3, and 6.1 × 1016 cm-3, respectively. The latter, with its high trap concentration and energy position lying 0.4 eV above the valance band, suggests a possible role in compensation of carrier concentration, whereas the mid-gap positions of the other two levels imply that they will be important recombination-generation centers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]