1. Contact Resistance and Leakage Current of GaN Devices with Annealed Ti/Al/Mo/Au Ohmic Contacts
- Author
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Kangmin Choi, Tae Joo Park, Hyun Soo Jin, Min-Woo Ha, and Yoo Jin Jo
- Subjects
010302 applied physics ,Auger electron spectroscopy ,Materials science ,Passivation ,business.industry ,Annealing (metallurgy) ,Schottky barrier ,Contact resistance ,Schottky diode ,02 engineering and technology ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,0103 physical sciences ,Optoelectronics ,Breakdown voltage ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,Ohmic contact - Abstract
In recent years, the on-resistance, power loss and cell density of Si power devices have not exhibited significant improvements, and performance is approaching the material limits. GaN is considered an attractive material for future high-power applications because of the wide band-gap, large breakdown field, high electron mobility, high switching speed and low on-resistance. Here we report on the Ohmic contact resistance and reversebias characteristics of AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes with and without annealing. Annealing in oxygen at 500℃ resulted in an increase in the breakdown voltage from 641 to 1,172 V for devices with an anode-cathode separation of 20 μm. However, these annealing conditions also resulted in an increase in the contact resistance of 0.183 Ω-mm, which is attributed to oxidation of the metal contacts. Auger electron spectroscopy revealed diffusion of oxygen and Au into the AlGaN and GaN layers following annealing. The improved reverse-bias characteristics following annealing in oxygen are attributed to passivation of dangling bonds and plasma damage due to interactions between oxygen and GaN/AlGaN. Thermal annealing is therefore useful during the fabrication of high-voltage GaN devices, but the effects on the Ohmic contact resistance should be considered.
- Published
- 2016