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Sc0.18Al0.82N/GaN with state-of-the-art x-ray diffraction figures of merit grown by metal modulated epitaxy under metal-rich conditions and a low substrate temperature of 400 °C is demonstrated to have improved crystalline order [250 arc sec for the (0002) reflection and 469 arc sec for the (10 1 ¯ 5)] compared to a previous state-of-the-art sample grown at a more conventional temperature of 650 °C. While both samples show a columnar structure, the higher substrate temperature sample has a good symmetric rocking curve (RC) of 229 arc sec, but unlike the lower temperature sample, the RC of the (10 1 ¯ 5) asymmetric reflection could not be measured, indicating a more columnar structure common among ScAlN films. Local lattice constant maps (LLCMs) from 4D-STEM depict abrupt strain relaxation within ∼2 nm from the ScAlN/GaN interface for the sample grown at Tsub = 400 °C. Since these LLCMs suggest a lattice mismatch in the a-lattice constant, and since the films show a sudden roughening, the composition for lattice match to GaN may be less than the accepted 18%–20% Sc, consistent with the average GaN lattice match from lattice constant values reported in the literature of 12%. Compared to traditional III-Nitrides, ScAlN films have substantially more screw and mixed-type threading dislocations, suggesting substantial shear forces that result in significant twist and distortion leading to orthorhombic diffraction patterns as viewed from plan-view TEM in the Tsub = 650 °C sample. These results offer the possibility of ScAlN integration into low-thermal-budget processes including CMOS but further indicate that structural understanding of ScAlN remains lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While metal-rich ScAlN epitaxy has traditionally led to mixed phase films by controlling the surface chemistry with transient metal doses utilizing a pulsed method of molecular beam epitaxy, phase-pure, metal-rich epitaxy of ScAlN was demonstrated, showing improved structural and electrical characteristics. The effects of substrate temperature and III/V ratio were studied, and an x-ray diffraction figure of merit and surface roughness as low as 225 arcsec and 0.68 nm, respectively, were demonstrated. A significant catalytic effect is observed with the use of Sc in metal-rich conditions, resulting in varied growth rates with substrate temperature and Sc surface coverage. This catalytic effect results in complications when selecting synthesis conditions and for in situ monitoring and can be accounted for improved phase purity. The variation of growth rates with Sc surface coverage introduces non-linearities to the transient initiation stage of growth but also introduces a feedback stabilization of the surface chemistry. Accounting for these complexities, a Sc0.2Al0.8N high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) heterostructure is demonstrated with a sheet resistance of 152 Ω/□, a mobility of 700 cm2/Vs, and a sheet charge of 5.9 × 1013 cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is an insulator that has shown little promise to be converted to a semiconductor via impurity doping. Some of the historic challenges for successfully doping AlN include a reconfigurable defect formation known as a DX center and subsequent compensation that causes an increase in dopant activation energy resulting in very few carriers of electricity, electrons, or holes, rendering doping inefficient. Using crystal synthesis methods that generate less compensating impurities and less lattice expansion, thus impeding the reconfiguration of dopants, and using new dopants, we demonstrate: (a) well behaved bulk semiconducting functionality in AlN, the largest direct bandgap semiconductor known with (b) substantial bulk p-type conduction (holes = 3.1 × 1018 cm−3, as recently reported in our prior work), (c) dramatic improvement in n-type bulk conduction (electrons = 6 × 1018 cm−3, nearly 6000 times the prior state-of-the-art), and (d) a PN AlN diode with a nearly ideal turn-on voltage of ∼6 V for a 6.1 eV bandgap semiconductor. A wide variety of AlN-based applications are enabled that will impact deep ultraviolet light-based viral and bacterial sterilization, polymer curing, lithography, laser machining, high-temperature, high-voltage, and high-power electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent achievement of p-type AlN films via Be doping was utilized to achieve novel heteroepitaxial diodes with Schottky, Pin, and junction barrier Schottky (JBS) electrical behavior. Although the heteroepitaxial structures were quasi-vertical, which is subject to many issues lowering the breakdown voltage, the Pin diode achieved a breakdown voltage of ∼25 V for a 200 nm thick unintentionally doped intrinsic layer indicating ∼50% of the theoretical breakdown voltage performance for a similar homoepitaxial GaN pin diode. JBS and Schottky diodes were implemented using the inherent and intentional stress cracking properties of AlN grown on GaN films avoiding regrowth and plasma etching, both known to be technology impediments. The density of the intentional cracks and crystalline quality of the p-AlN films was controlled via Be doping and the total metal dose supplied during the metal modulated epitaxy shutter cycle resulting in differing degrees of grown stress. Since the intentional crack density determines the surface area ratio of the Schottky diode to the Pin diode, it is a key design parameter in optimizing device performance. Furthermore, a novel current spreading layer was implemented to improve the current uniformity in these devices. The high breakdown voltage and good forward voltage characteristics of these devices shows potential to enable high-performance III-nitride high-power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN self-assembled superlattices (SASLs) and their customization were investigated via metal modulated epitaxy. Using the dynamics of metal accumulation, surface strain, and surface segregation, coherent SASL structures were demonstrated with high repeatability over 910 nm (63 periods) with no growth interrupts at rates as high as 2.8 μm/h. High customizability was shown with control over period thickness as well as the thickness of the individual layers. Factors effecting the thickness and composition of each layer are discussed and methods of customization are presented. Transmission electron microscopy shows abrupt interfaces between individual layers of the SASL and good coherency throughout the structure and strong wavelength tunable ultraviolet photoluminescence was observed. Such a method of SASL fabrication offers promise for the growth of multi-quantum well structures, distributed Bragg reflectors, strain relaxation buffers, and beyond without the need for growth interrupts, and thus unintentional contaminant incorporation, between layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-insulating GaN films with controlled dopant profiles have significant potential to improve the performance of high-power electronics. Beryllium doped GaN (GaN:Be) films previously demonstrated a semi-insulating nature, but the Be-dopant profiles in these films exhibited Be surface segregation and accumulation, which would lead to undesired leakage current paths in devices and deterioration of breakdown voltage. Improved growth kinetics of metal modulated epitaxy at low growth temperatures are applied in the study of GaN:Be films to achieve selectively controlled and abrupt step-doped Be profiles. The GaN:Be films were found to be semi-insulating via Hall effect measurements at elevated temperatures of 495 K. The films were shown to effectively electrically compensate surface contaminants at regrowth interfaces. Surface contaminants (O, Si, and C) typically result in unintentional n-type doping at the GaN on GaN regrowth interface. In order to demonstrate the utility of Be doping, GaN:Mg p-type films are grown atop GaN:Be buffer, AlN buffer, and control samples without any insulating buffer on GaN:Fe templates. Remarkably, the p-type films grown atop control samples up to 400 nm thick are compensated from surface contaminants, whereas the films grown atop AlN and GaN:Be insulating layers effectively electrically neutralize the surface contaminants and result in high hole concentrations of 2.3 and 2.5 × 1019 cm−3, respectively. The use of GaN:Be instead of AlN buffers eliminates the need to deconvolve the effects of the AlN/GaN 2D sheet charges and defects from lattice mismatch, removes lateral conduction paths, and reduces inherently high static vertical electric fields that detract from power device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A non-traditional, for AlInN, method of controlling adatom kinetics and a low temperature growth condition were employed to improve the quality of high indium content aluminum indium nitride films. Metal-rich surfaces were used to enhance adatom mobility and compensate for the low growth temperature (Tsub ≤ 400 °C) effect of reducing surface diffusion lengths. The metal-rich approach resulted in 12 times lower x-ray diffraction full-width at half-maximum rocking curve figures of merit when compared to literature. In addition to promising photoluminescence emission, these results indicate improved structural quality over other reported approaches. AlInN films with ∼70% indium content were characterized via x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy with each technique indicating an optimal growth temperature of 350 °C. Al0.3In0.7N grown above 400 °C exhibited phase separation and a reduction in quality, while samples grown colder were predominantly single-phase and displayed improved photoluminescence at ∼1.45 eV. The photoluminescence spectra suggest emission from quantum wire-like structures with dimensions ranging from 15 to 18 nm. These low-temperature, metal-rich findings for high indium content AlInN are promising for future long-wavelength III-nitride optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural quality of indium-rich Al0.3In0.7N grown by metal modulated epitaxy (MME), previously demonstrating x-ray diffraction (XRD) figures of merit ∼11 times better than the previous literature is investigated to explain the origin of such a large quality improvement. Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscope was used to map the lattice parameter near the AlInN/GaN heterojunction and indicate a 5.4% lattice constant change, suggesting 75% relaxation within ∼2 nm from the interface. Cross-sectional TEM Moiré fringes are observed at the AlInN/GaN heterointerface, indicating that there are misfit dislocations between AlInN and GaN which, while rare, have been observed for other highly mismatched In-rich III-Nitrides. The TEM measurements show regions of contrast indicating larger scale variations in strain, but defect contrast associated with dislocations and/or intrinsic basal stacking faults was minimal, indicating a good quality AlInN film and confirming prior XRD results. Significant electron beam induced damage can occur and depended strongly on operational conditions. The damage threshold current density was estimated using time-dependent TEM to be ∼5.7 A/cm2, significantly lower than from prior studies of InGaN. Damage also strongly depends on the thickness of the TEM foil examined and occurred at thicknesses greater than found for InGaN. The present study suggests that the MME technique is an excellent candidate for growing high-quality indium-rich AlInN films as compared to the traditional molecular beam epitaxy or metal organic chemical vapor deposition techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN alloys are promising for field emission devices due to their low electron affinities. However, there have been limited demonstrations of AlGaN vacuum transistors so far. This letter combines a new self-aligned-gate (SAG) process and digital-etching tip sharpening to demonstrate three-terminal AlGaN SAG field emitter arrays (FEAs). These devices show a turn-on voltage of 19.5 V and an anode current density (JA) of 100 mA/cm2 at an overdrive voltage of 20 V, which are comparable with best Si devices. The AlGaN SAGFEAs can operate in DC mode at a fixed gate-emitter voltage ($\text{V}_{\textit {GE}}$) with JA of 3–5 mA/cm2 for at least 5 hours without a significant degradation. The gate leakage does not increase after the long DC operation, suggesting high-performance and stable AlGaN vacuum transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of beryllium as both an i-layer and current spreading layer (CSL) dopant in GaN quasi-vertical p-i-n diodes on sapphire was investigated. With the inclusion of the Be CSL, the current uniformity dramatically improves from $\sim 40$ % of the p-contact radii to 100% resulting in higher breakdown performance and reduced leakage currents. Metal modulated epitaxy (MME) GaN p-i-n diodes on sapphire templates with beryllium-doped GaN (GaN:Be) i-layer thicknesses in the range of 1– $10~\mu \text{m}$ are reported. Additionally, a GaN:Be CSL sandwiched between two conductive Si-doped GaN layers is used to achieve a high quasi-vertical p-i-n diode breakdown voltage of 375 V and a breakdown field of 1.875 MV/cm for the $2~\mu \text{m}$ i-layer p-i-n diodes. At room temperature, the diode with a mesa diameter of $100~\mu \text{m}$ showed a differential ON-resistance (${R}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}} \,\,=\,\,\text{d}{V}/\text{d}{I}$) as low as 0.3 $\text{m}\Omega $ -cm2 for a $10~\mu \text{m}$ GaN:Be i-layer diode. A Baliga’s figure of merit (BFOM) ($\text {V}_{\text {Br}}^{{2}}/{R}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}$) of 363 MW/cm2 was achieved for the $10~\mu \text{m}$ i-layer p-i-n diode. This is the highest reported BFOM for GaN p-i-n diodes on foreign substrates. Additionally, the leakage current density is very low: $1\times 10^{{-{9}\,\,{ }}}$ kA/cm2 at 300 V reverse bias for the 5 and $10~\mu \text{m}$ GaN:Be i-layer devices. These devices exhibit a current ON/ OFF ratio ten orders of magnitude. Given the low particle environment, rapid growth rates, ease of compatibility with the toxic dopant Be, and high device performance, the use of Be as a dopant is very useful for high-power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many advanced III-nitride devices, such as micro-LEDs, vertical FinFETs, and field emitters, require the fabrication of high aspect ratio vertical pillars or nanowires. Two-step etchings combining dry and wet etching steps have been used on vertical devices in the past, but they show poor control in vertical nanostructures with sub-50 nm diameter. In this work, we demonstrate a wet-chemical digital etching on GaN and AlGaN and apply it to both vertical nanostructure scaling and planar etching along the c-axis. In this digital etching process, a mixture of H2SO4 and H2O2 is applied to oxidize the III-nitrides surface, and the oxide layer is then removed by dilute HCl. This digital etching approach can finely sharpen vertical structures and does not require any vacuum or plasma systems, which will enable advanced device structures in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power efficiencies of state-of-the-art AlxGa1-xN deep-ultraviolet (UV) emitters operating in the <300 nm wavelength region are currently limited to a few percent in part due to limitations in the series and contact resistance which result in excessive drive voltages. AlxGa1-xN tunnel contacts and tunnel junctions in deep-UV devices are a promising route toward increasing these efficiencies by improving the contact resistances, hole injection, and reducing optical absorption by removing undesirable p-GaN contact layers. However, due to doping inefficiencies, standalone tunnel diodes have not been realized in the form of homojunction AlxGa1-xN. In this work, AlxGa1-xN (0.19 ≤ x ≤ 0.58) homojunction tunnel diodes are fabricated with high reverse bias current densities, and one device with x = 0.19 demonstrates a negative differential resistance at ∼2.4 V. AlxGa1-xN p++/n++/n tunnel diodes are compared to reference p++/i/n diodes to provide clarity about the role of tunneling conduction vs leakage conduction. Transmission electron microscopy verifies that heavy doping does not result in visible defects such as Mg precipitates and allows for subsequent epitaxy, critical for buried tunnel junction structures. Increasing the bandgap energy of AlxGa1-xN for higher Al content tunnel junctions decreases the tunnel current, but still allows sufficient conduction necessary for future improvements in deep UV emitter efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]