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Localized lattice distortions in GaN substrates can serve as nucleation sites for epitaxial macro-steps and macro-terraces. These detrimental macro-scale features give rise to optically hazy homoepitaxial GaN surfaces. After nucleating, these macro-features grow laterally along the surface and coalesce, leading to significant coverage of the wafer surface. Dot-core GaN substrates consisting of a periodic array of cores were used as a defect-engineered system, where dislocations are intentionally concentrated at the cores. The high density of threading dislocations at the cores induced localized lattice distortions. These distortions are associated predominantly with lattice tilt on the order of hundreds of arcsec across ∼0.5 mm laterally along the wafer surface. The resulting macro-features that nucleated at these localized distorted sites were made up of macro-terraces with lengths ranging ∼30–∼150 μm and macro-step heights ranging ∼200–∼400 nm. Another source of localized distortion was threading screw dislocations or GaN nanopipes that resulted in spiral growth and hillock formation. Based on x-ray topography and optical microscopy measurements, we speculate that the coalescence of hillocks evolves into macro-terraces and macro-steps. While previous studies focused on the substrate miscut as a means to control macro-feature formation, we show that localized lattice tilt from defects is another important contributor to macro-feature formation.

This paper reviews materials challenges and recent progress for selective area regrowth and doping for vertical gallium nitride (GaN) power devices. The purpose is to realize randomly placed, reliable, contactable, and generally useable laterally patterned p-n junctions, which are the building blocks for various advanced power rectifiers and transistors. The general regrowth process and regrowth dynamics in trenches were discussed, where the effects of trench geometries, growth methods, and bulk substrates were elucidated. Comprehensive materials characterization techniques were utilized to analyze the regrown structures, including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, scanning probe microscopy, and secondary-ion mass spectrometry. Cathodoluminescence and secondary electrons in scanning electron microscopy and atom probe tomography were used to achieve lateral and vertical dopant profiling at a sub-micron scale. The regrowth interface after dry etching accumulated a high density of impurities and charges, contributing to the formation of a p+-n+ tunneling junction. This hypothesis was further confirmed by the electrostatic potential profile at the regrowth interface using electron holography. Novel etching technologies were investigated to improve the regrowth interface. It was found that low-power dry etching significantly reduced the interfacial charges and the reverse leakage currents of regrown p-n junctions. Photoelectrochemical wet etching was found to be effective in reducing deep-level defects near the regrowth interface. Atomic layer etching uses self-limiting chemical processes, thus removing the damaged layers without inducing further etching damage. Tertiarybutylchloride-based in situ etching may serve as an alternative etching method to dry etching with reduced etching damage. In terms of devices, regrown p-n junctions with low leakage currents and vertical junction field-effect transistors were demonstrated. Further improvements in selective area regrowth and associated devices can be expected using regrowth optimization and regrowth interface engineering via surface treatments and low-damage etching. These results represent an important step towards realizing selective area regrowth and doping for high performance GaN power electronics devices and systems.

Ultrawide bandgap Al0.7Ga0.3N MESFETs with refractory Tungsten Schottky and Ohmic contacts are studied in 300–675 K environments. Variable-temperature dc electrical transport reveals large ON-state drain current densities for an AlGaN device: 209 mA/mm at 300 K and 156 mA/mm at 675 K in the ON-state (25% reduction). Drain and gate currents are only weakly temperature-dependent, suggesting potential for engineering temperature invariant operation. The ON-/ OFF-ratio is limited by OFF-state leakage through the gate, which is attributed to damage from sputter deposition. Future work using refractory metals with larger work functions that are deposited by electron beam deposition is proposed.

Advanced GaN power devices are promising for many applications in high power electronics but performance limitations due to material quality in etched-and-regrown junctions prevent their widespread use. Carrier diffusion length is a critical parameter that not only determines device performance but is also a diagnostic of material quality. Here we present the use of electron-beam induced current to measure carrier diffusion lengths in continuously grown and etched-and-regrown GaN pin diodes as models for interfaces in more complex devices. Variations in the quality of the etched-and-regrown junctions are observed and shown to be due to the degradation of the n-type material. We observe an etched-and-regrown junction with properties comparable to a continuously grown junction.

The structural evolution before and after annealing of c-plane dot-core GaN substrates under growth-like conditions was studied using monochromatic X-ray topography. The anneal was performed at 1050 °C for 10 hours in a MOCVD growth chamber under conditions optimized for the growth of GaN drift layers but without the group-III alkyl. This replicates the thermal environment the substrates experiences during the growth of > 2 kV PN diodes. In the current literature, fundamental understanding of the defect structure of dot-core GaN substrates – and its direct impact on device performance – is limited. X-ray topography provides a nondestructive method for studying the structural nature of defects which can then be used to understand the impact of defects on device performance. The measurements were performed at the 1-BM beamline of the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory using an X-ray energy of 8.05 keV to measure the (1124) GaN reflection to generate single exposure images (images exposed at a specific ω angular position along the X-ray rocking curve) as well as rocked images (a composite image exposed at many positions along the rocking curve). The step size for the rocked images was 0.008°. The rocked images showed butterfly-shaped diffraction lines centered at each core – indicative of localized distortions due to a high density of defects aggregated at each core. Furthermore, the single exposure images revealed that in the regions between the cores, the lattice is less misoriented than at the cores. The defects present at the cores induce severe lattice tilt emanating radially from the cores, which suggests that these relatively high tilt regions (cores) would be detrimental to device performance. Before annealing, it was observed that adjacent low tilt regions were tilted with respect to each other. The radius of (lattice) curvature of the substrate before annealing was 17 ± 1 m, which indicates that globally throughout the entire substrate there was a high amount of lattice tilt misorientation. After annealing, the substrate flattens – the radius of curvature increased to 27 ± 2 m and an increase in diffracted area between adjacent “low tilt” areas also increased, which is evidence of both local and global structural reconfiguration of the lattice towards a smaller degree of misorientation due to the anneal. Figure 1

Aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are candidates for next-generation power conversion and radio frequency (RF) applications. AlxGa1-xN channel HEMT devices (x = 0.3, x = 0.7) were investigated using multiple in-situ thermal characterization methods and electro-thermal simulation. The thermal conductivity, contact resistivity, and channel mobility were characterized as a function of temperature to understand and compare the heat generation profile and electro-thermal transport within these devices. In contrast to GaN-based HEMTs, the electrical output characteristics of Al0.70Ga0.30 N channel HEMTs exhibit remarkably lower sensitivity to the ambient temperature rise. Also, during 10kHz pulsed operation, the difference in peak temperature between the AlGaN channel HEMTs and GaN HEMTs reduced significantly.

As compound semiconductor devices become more advanced, their ultimate performance becomes increasingly dependent on nano to micro scale structural defects in their constituent materials. These defects, such as dislocations, stacking faults, and anti-phase boundaries often act as recombination centers in devices, limiting efficiency. Characterization of these defects – their type (such as edge vs. screw vs. mixed dislocations), their relative densities, how they interact with other defects, what growth conditions are more or less likely to propagate them, how they relate to device efficiencies and performance, etc. – is vital to mitigate their negative effects and even sometimes exploit their potential benefits depending on the desired application. In this contribution, we will discuss the use of electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) as an ideal characterization method for compound semiconductors and devices as well as some recent applications which include ECCI characterization in tandem with other characterization methods for a broader material understanding. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a widely used technique for characterizing extended defects and local crystal orientation. However, TEM analysis usually entails thinning a sample via focused ion beam milling or chemical/mechanical polishing to around 50-100 nm, which is time consuming and only allows a relatively small area of the sample to be characterized. These drawbacks can cause bottlenecks in research progress and even render TEM impractical for certain applications. ECCI performed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) can bypass these issues as it requires little to no sample preparation. This means ECCI can easily characterize over large areas in a fraction of the time as TEM analysis. [1-3] These benefits mean that ECCI gives more accurate analysis by not missing larger trends that can be missed with the small samples in TEM as well as by not introducing artifacts from the sample preparation. Here we highlight applications of ECCI for characterization of two very different compound semiconductors of growing importance -- Cd3As2 and GaN. Firstly, we consider Cd3As2 thin films of use as topological quantum materials, where the Cd3As2 can be either a compound semiconductor or topological Dirac semimetal, depending on the structural phase or mode of use. The ECCI of MOCVD-grown Cd3As2 shown in this work finds that the developmental thin films are not completely single crystalline. [4] Moreover, two different spatial scales of domain formation are seen. At lower magnification, we see roughly circular-shaped larger domains that are ~ 2-5 mm in diameter. Some of these domains are more prominently defined and feature single dark spots at their center, which at first suggests threading dislocations, but turns out to be occasional defect-pits formed in concert with numerous, indistinct threads. At higher magnification, we see much smaller dot-like or speck-like domains that are ~ 100 nm or less in diameter. The wide-area electron channeling patterns used to orient the sample for the ECCI imaging were visible, but rather indistinctly resolved, which is consistent with small crystallographic misorientations of the ensemble of domains composing the film. Secondly, we consider bulk GaN wafers entering use in a wide variety of functional applications, including GaN high-voltage diodes for power electronics. We will show novel “star” defects appearing in the GaN substrates when characterized by both ECCI and high-resolution electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). [5] Through a more complete structural understanding of these star defects, we seek to improve understanding of the impact of these defects on device performance, which may in turn facilitate development of strategies for their mitigation or removal. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Wide-bandgap semiconductors have a significant advantage over conventional Si-based electronics by leveraging materials properties to achieve higher breakdown voltage, lower on-resistance, and high-frequency operation. For electric vehicle drivetrains, this translates to higher efficiency and power density, resulting in more miles driven per charge. This move towards wide-bandgap power electronics is necessary to achieve the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) power electronics density target of 100 kW/L. Vertical gallium nitride-based power devices are expected to exceed Si and even SiC-based systems with the promise of increased performance and power density. Compared to lateral GaN devices, a vertical topology promotes more efficient scaling towards high-power applications, where both high voltage and high current are necessary. This talk describes our team’s effort towards developing vertical GaN MOSFETs. The results of Sandia’s first-generation device demonstrator serve as a milestone in the path of producing devices rated for 1200-V and 100-A operation. The vertical GaN trench MOSFET is unique compared to Si- or SiC-alternatives in that the doped layers comprising the source and body regions are grown by epitaxy rather than formed by ion implantation. Challenges with selective-area doping in GaN add additional complexity to the design of a trench MOSFET. In addition, the lack of a high-quality native oxide in GaN means that the gate dielectric must be deposited rather than thermally grown. The devices produced at Sandia rely on atomic-layer-deposited thin films for the gate dielectric (primarily Al2O3 or SiO2). First-generation results demonstrate devices capable of 400 mA/mm drain current, 108 on/off ratio, and a positive threshold voltage near 8 V. More recently, devices capable of blocking 500 V in the off-state have been demonstrated. Device failure in the off-state results from high fields in the gate dielectric, which can be minimized by reducing the trench etch depth or by increasing the voltage rating of the drift region. However, further shielding of the gate dielectric to achieve substantially higher off-state voltages requires significant changes to the device architecture which are reliant on selective-area doping. In addition, device-killing defects either from the starting substrate, the epitaxy, or defects introduced during processing limit yield for large-area devices and present a substantial obstacle to scale devices for high-current operation. Hence, methods for reducing cell pitch and increasing packing density are highly valued. In this talk, we will discuss the path forward for achieving higher breakdown voltages and high-current operation using GaN-specific strategies to achieve better performing devices, as well as some of the challenges for vertical GaN development. This work provides a foundational platform for developing next-generation power electronics that employ wide bandgap, gallium nitride semiconductors. This work was supported by the Electric Drivetrain Consortium managed by Susan Rogers of DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government. Figure 1

Vertical GaN power devices have emerged to become promising candidates for next-generation high power applications due to superior material properties such as high breakdown voltage, low on-resistance, and high mobility compared to devices based on Si and SiC. GaN-based p-n junction switching devices enable higher voltage power with significantly higher efficiencies with added advantages of reduced size and weight systems. A technological limitation of GaN, however, has been the inability to achieve high p-type doping in a planar, vertical device. Here, we will focus on recent developments to achieve high p-type efficiency though ion implantation, novel high temperature annealing schemes, and the importance of defects and morphology in native substrates and epitaxial layers GaN epitaxial layers for subsequent p-type ion implantation can be grown on sapphire substrates but vertical devices are optimal when using GaN homoepitaxial structures. Unlike most other semiconductor substrates, GaN substrates are not grown from the melt. Hydride vapor phase epitaxy or ammonothermal growth are predominantly used to produce substrates and these substrates will experience higher temperatures during subsequent epitaxy and ion implant activation annealing than occurs during substrate formation. In both types of substrates, the threading dislocation distribution can vary by orders of magnitude – these variations correlate well with leakage currents in vertical devices. The activation of the implanted p-type dopants requires high temperature annealing. For most semiconductors, an annealing temperature of ~ 2/3 the melting point leads to a high activation fraction (> 95%) of the implanted species. The implantation process introduces large concentrations of native defects as well as the p-type implant (typically Mg), so it is necessary to remove the defects and for the dopants to locate on substitutional sites (Ga sites for Mg). We demonstrate how the formation of inverted domain defects at temperatures below 1400 °C correlate with Mg-compound formation, whereas annealing temperatures 1400 °C and above do not lead to the formation of such compounds but rather high Mg activation efficiencies. These recent developments, partly through the ARPA-E PNDIODES program as well as international efforts, have brought understanding of the key processing steps and substrate requirements to achieve high activation efficiency p-type doping for planar, vertical device structures in a scalable framework.

Ultra-wide-bandgap aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) possesses several material properties that make it attractive for use in a variety of applications. This chapter focuses on power switching and radio-frequency (RF) devices based on Al-rich AlGaN heterostructures. The relevant figures of merit for both power switching and RF devices are discussed as motivation for the use of AlGaN heterostructures in such applications. The key physical parameters impacting these figures of merit include critical electric field, channel mobility, channel carrier density, and carrier saturation velocity, and the factors influencing these and the trade-offs between them are discussed. Surveys of both power switching and RF devices are given and their performance is described including in special operating regimes such as at high temperatures. Challenges to be overcome, such as the formation of low-resistivity Ohmic contacts, are presented. Finally, an overview of processing-related challenges, especially related to surfaces and interfaces, concludes the chapter.

This paper describes the development of vertical GaN PN diodes for high-voltage applications. A centerpiece of this work is the creation of a foundry effort that incorporates epitaxial growth, wafer metrology, device design, processing, and characterization, and reliability evaluation and failure analysis. A parallel effort aims to develop very high voltage (up to 20 kV) GaN PN diodes for use as devices to protect the electric grid against electromagnetic pulses.

The use of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition at high temperature is investigated as a means to produce epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) at the wafer scale. Several categories of hBN films were found to exist based upon precursor flows and deposition temperature. Low, intermediate, and high NH 3 flow regimes were found to lead to fundamentally different deposition behaviors. The low NH 3 flow regimes yielded discolored films of boron sub-nitride. The intermediate NH 3 flow regime yielded stoichiometric films that could be deposited as thick films. The high NH 3 flow regime yielded self-limited deposition with thicknesses limited to a few mono-layers. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism is proposed to explain the onset of self-limited behavior for the high NH 3 flow regime. Photoluminescence characterization determined that the intermediate and high NH 3 flow regimes could be further divided into low and high temperature behaviors with a boundary at 1500 °C. Films deposited with both high NH 3 flow and high temperature exhibited room temperature free exciton emission at 210 nm and 215.9 nm.

We report on ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) Al0.7Ga0.3N channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Employing reverse Al composition graded ohmic contact layers and 20 nm Al2O3 gate-dielectric, 250 nm thick Al0.7Ga0.3N:Si channel MOSFETs resulted in the maximum current density of 0.5 A/mm, which is the highest value reported for AlGaN channels with Al composition >0.25. Transistors with a gate-drain spacing ( $L_{\mathrm{ GD}})$ of $1.7~\mu \text{m}$ demonstrated a breakdown voltage ( $V_{\mathrm{ DG}})$ of ~620 V, translating in an average lateral breakdown field of ~3.6 MV/cm. This work establishes UWBG AlGaN as a promising candidate for advanced RF applications.

Understanding the impact of high-energy electron radiation on device characteristics remains critical for the expanding use of semiconductor electronics in space-borne applications and other radiation harsh environments. Here, we report on in situ measurements of high-energy electron radiation effects on the hole diffusion length in low threading dislocation density homoepitaxial bulk n-GaN Schottky diodes using electron beam induced current (EBIC) in high-voltage scanning electron microscopy mode. Despite the large interaction volume in this system, quantitative EBIC imaging is possible due to the sustained collimation of the incident electron beam. This approach enables direct measurement of electron radiation effects without having to thin the specimen. Using a combination of experimental EBIC measurements and Monte Carlo simulations of electron trajectories, we determine a hole diffusion length of 264 ± 11 nm for n-GaN. Irradiation with 200 kV electron beam with an accumulated dose of 24 × 1016 electrons cm−2 led to an approximate 35% decrease in the minority carrier diffusion length.

Simulations of reverse breakdown behavior of GaN power diodes with junction termination extensions (JTEs) are presented. The p-type JTE is located at the edge of the main p-n-junction, and under reverse bias, the charge in the JTE causes spreading and reduction of the peak electric fields to avoid premature avalanche breakdown. To determine the available charge in the JTE, it is shown that the electric field under reverse bias causes severe band bending within the JTE and full ionization of the Mg acceptor. Therefore, all the Mg dopants contribute charge and determine the performance of the JTE. The dependence of the breakdown voltage on the JTE’s acceptor concentration and thickness is shown. When the JTE is properly designed, the simulations show improved reverse breakdown behavior and breakdown efficiencies approaching 98% of the ideal limit for planar geometry. Finally, the challenges of creating JTEs within GaN power diodes are discussed.

Using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, a comprehensive study of B x Ga 1−x N growth on GaN and AlN templates is described. BGaN growth at high-temperature and high-pressure results in rough surfaces and poor boron incorporation efficiency, while growth at low-temperature and low-pressure (750–900 °C and 20 Torr) using nitrogen carrier gas results in improved surface morphology and boron incorporation up to ~7.4% as determined by nuclear reaction analysis. However, further structural analysis by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray pole figures points to severe degradation of the high boron composition films, into a twinned cubic structure with a high density of stacking faults and little or no room temperature photoluminescence emission. Films with 1% TEB flow, the crystal structure becomes dominated by the cubic phase. Only when the TEB flow is zero (pure GaN), does the cubic phase entirely disappear from the x-ray pole figure, suggesting that under these growth conditions even very low boron compositions lead to mixed crystalline phases.

Researchers have been extensively studying wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) with an aim to accomplish an improvement in size, weight, and power (SWaP) of power electronics beyond current devices based on silicon (Si). However, the increased operating power densities and reduced areal footprints of WBG device technologies result in significant levels of self-heating that can ultimately restrict device operation through performance degradation, reliability issues, and failure. Typically, self-heating in WBG devices is studied using a single measurement technique while operating the device under steady-state direct current (DC) measurement conditions. However, for switching applications, this steady-state thermal characterization may lose significance since high power dissipation occurs during fast transient switching events. Therefore, it can be useful to probe the WBG devices under transient measurement conditions in order to better understand the thermal dynamics of these systems in practical applications. In this work, the transient thermal dynamics of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) were studied using thermoreflectance thermal imaging and Raman thermometry. Also, the proper use of iterative pulsed measurement schemes such as thermoreflectance thermal imaging to determine the steady-state operating temperature of devices is discussed. These studies are followed with subsequent transient thermal characterization to accurately probe the self-heating from steady-state down to sub-microsecond pulse conditions using both thermoreflectance thermal imaging and Raman thermometry with temporal resolutions down to 15 ns.

Edge termination for vertical power devices presents a significant challenge, as improper termination can result in devices with a breakdown voltage significantly less than the ideal infinite-planar case. Edge termination for vertical GaN devices is particularly challenging due to limitations in ion implantation for GaN, and as such this work investigates a bevel edge termination technique that does not require implantation and has proven to be effective for Si and SiC power devices. However, due to key differences between GaN versus Si and SiC p-n junctions (specifically, a grown versus an implanted junction), this technology needs to be reevaluated for GaN. Simulation results suggest that by leveraging the effective bevel angle relationship, a 10-15° physical bevel angle can yield devices with 85-90% of the ideal breakdown voltage. Results are presented for a negative bevel edge termination on an ideally 2 kV vertical GaN p-n diode.

This chapter discusses the motivation for the use of Ultra-Wide-Bandgap Aluminum Gallium Nitride semiconductors for power switching and radio-frequency applications. A review of the relevant figures of merit for both vertical and lateral power switching devices, as well as lateral radio-frequency devices, is presented, demonstrating the potential superior performance of these devices relative to Gallium Nitride. Additionally, representative results from the literature for each device type are reviewed, highlighting recent progress as well as areas for further research.

In this work, synchrotron monochromatic X-ray topography was employed to study the structural characteristics of as-received c-plane dot-core GaN substrates and then to investigate the structural evolution with annealing under growth-like conditions at 1050 °C for 10 h. Single exposure X-ray topography images were obtained using the (1124) GaN asymmetric reflection. These images were superimposed to quantify the lattice distortions in regions near the dot-cores and in the regions between these defects. The results show that different dot-core substrates from the same vendor exhibit different defect distribution, lattice distortions around the cores, and different radii of lattice curvature, ranging from 7 m to 25 m. Annealing under growth-like conditions reduces both the global and local lattice distortions. Globally, the radius of curvature across the wafer increased from 17 m to 27 m after annealing. The local radius of curvature across the highly distorted core regions also increased from 0.47 ± 0.04 m to 0.9 ± 0.2 m after annealing. An increase in the radius of curvature is an indication of stress reduction. The lattice tilt around the cores varies from 0.01°−0.02°. The lattice planes around the centers of cores are highly distorted, and the magnitude of the tilt generally decreases radially away from the core center. After annealing, these local distortions decreased as well. A general core model was built based on these experimental results, providing a fundamental structural picture of dot-core regions, which has been lacking in the current literature.

Ammonothermal growth of bulk gallium nitride (GaN) crystals is considered the most suitable method to meet the demand for high quality bulk substrates for power electronics. A non-destructive evaluation of defect content in state-of-the-art ammonothermal substrates has been carried out by synchrotron X-ray topography. Using a monochromatic beam in grazing incidence geometry, high resolution X-ray topographs reveal the various dislocation types present. Ray-tracing simulations that were modified to take both surface relaxation and absorption effects into account allowed improved correlation with observed dislocation contrast so that the Burgers vectors of the dislocations could be determined. The images show the very high quality of the ammonothermal GaN substrate wafers which contain low densities of threading dislocations (TDs) but are free of basal plane dislocations (BPDs). Threading mixed dislocations (TMDs) were found to be dominant among the TDs, and the overall TD density (TDD) of a 1-inch wafer was found to be as low as 5.16 × 103 cm−2.

Vertical GaN power diodes with a bilayer edge termination (ET) are demonstrated. The GaN p-n junction is formed on a low threading dislocation defect density ( $10^{4}-10^{5}$ cm $^{-2}$ ) GaN substrate, and has a 15- $\mu \text{m}$ -thick n-type drift layer with a free carrier concentration of $5\times 10^{15}$ cm $^{-3}$ . The ET structure is formed by $N$ implantation into the p+-GaN epilayer just outside the p-type contact to create compensating defects. The implant defect profile may be approximated by a bilayer structure consisting of a fully compensated layer near the surface, followed by a 90% compensated (p) layer near the n-type drift region. These devices exhibit avalanche breakdown as high as 2.6 kV at room temperature. Simulations show that the ET created by implantation is an effective way to laterally distribute the electric field over a large area. This increases the voltage at which impact ionization occurs and leads to the observed higher breakdown voltages.

High critical electric field (EC) and a large saturation velocity in ultra-wide bandgap transistors (UWBG) such as Al-rich AlGaN and ß-Ga2O3 is stimulating research into these devices [1,2]. This research is aimed at producing devices that may one day excel in power switching [3] and RF applications [4]. Figure-of-merit (FOM) analysis supports the possibility that Al-rich AlGaN transistors will outperform other WBG and UWBG transistors [5,6]. In spite of this promise, the UWBG devices do not yet perform well enough reach the promise evidenced by the FOM analysis. The favorable resolution of several important issues may be the key to broad acceptance of Al-rich AlGaN transistors. Until that time, Al-rich AlGaN transistors will begin to find utility in less mainstream uses. Recent developments are encouraging for the acceptance of Al-rich AlGaN in harsh environments. This talk will describe multiple research efforts to develop Al-rich AlGaN into the material of choice for next-generation power electronics applications and compare these research results to other WBG transistors where appropriate. These transistors generally benefit from the materials and fabrication similarity to AlGaN/GaN. They are grown epitaxially in the same metal organic chemical vapor deposition reactors and on mostly the same substrates. They will also benefit from similar fabrication infrastructure that is in place for AlGaN/GaN. Likewise, the AlGaN alloys support a wide diversity of device types. Depending on the targeted application, the AlGaN transistors may be depletion-mode (normally-on) or enhancement-mode (normally-off) transistors. Diversity in device types also includes various types of device designs that have been investigated, including metal-semiconductor field effect transistors, high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), metal-insulator-semiconductor transistors, metal-oxide transistors, and polarization doped transistors. We will also describe the progress in maturing this transistor technology along a number of fronts. They are improving towards high current density at a rapid rate through efforts to improve the mobility, efforts to improve the Ohmic contacts, and by means of aggressively scaling the device dimensions. The particular strengths of the Al-rich AlGaN transistor include high electric field at breakdown, which is already more than 2-times that of GaN, the high ION/IOFF ratio in the transistor, now exceeding 109 in multiple devices, and in their high temperature operation with multiple reports in the 300-500°C range. A recent comparison of an Al0.85Ga0.15N/Al0.7Ga0.3N HEMT against AlGaN/GaN showed a superior ION/IOFF ratio at 500°C and also shows a favorable extrapolation to the 500-800°C temperature range for Al0.7Ga0.3N but not for GaN [7]. Such results are beginning to suggest that AlGaN may one day become the preferred transistor for operation at extreme temperatures. Details regarding ongoing work to optimize device performance for Al-rich AlGaN transistors will be presented in the talk. [1] A.G. Baca et al., J. Vac. Science and Technology, 40, 1600501 (2020). [2] M. Higashiwaki and G. H. Jessen, Appl. Phys. Lett. 112, 060401 (2018). [3] R. J. Kaplar et al., J. Solid-State Sci. Technol., 6, Q3061 (2017). [4] R. J. Kaplar et al., Proc. GOMAC, Albuquerque, NM, USA (2019), pp. 587-591. [5] Coltrin et al., J. Solid-State Sci. Technol., 6, S3114 (2017). [6] S. Bajaj et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 263503 (2014). [7] P. H. Carey et al., J. Electron Devices Society, 7, 444 (2019). This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525. The views expressed in the presentation do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.

Steady-state photocapacitance (SSPC) was conducted on nonpolar m-plane GaN n-type Schottky diodes to evaluate the defects induced by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching in etched-and-regrown unipolar structures. An ∼10× increase in the near-midgap Ec – 1.9 eV level compared to an as-grown material was observed. Defect levels associated with regrowth without an etch were also investigated. The defects in the regrown structure (without an etch) are highly spatially localized to the regrowth interface. Subsequently, by depth profiling an etched-and-regrown sample, we show that the intensities of the defect-related SSPC features associated with dry etching depend strongly on the depth away from the regrowth interface, which is also reported previously [Nedy et al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 30, 085019 (2015); Fang et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 42, 4207–4212 (2003); and Cao et al., IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 47, 1320–1324 (2000)]. A photoelectrochemical etching (PEC) method and a wet AZ400K treatment are also introduced to reduce the etch-induced deep levels. A significant reduction in the density of deep levels is observed in the sample that was treated with PEC etching after dry etching and prior to regrowth. An ∼2× reduction in the density of Ec – 1.9 eV level compared to a reference etched-and-regrown structure was observed upon the application of PEC etching treatment prior to the regrowth. The PEC etching method is promising for reducing defects in selective-area doping for vertical power switching structures with complex geometries [Meyers et al., J. Electron. Mater. 49, 3481–3489 (2020)].

Gallium nitride substrates grown by the hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method using a patterned growth process have been characterized by synchrotron monochromatic beam X-ray topography in the grazing incidence geometry. Images reveal a starkly heterogeneous distribution of dislocations with areas as large as 0.3 mm2 containing threading dislocation densities below 103 cm−2 in between a grid of strain centers with higher threading dislocation densities (>104 cm−2). Basal plane dislocation densities in these areas are as low as 104 cm−2. By comparing the recorded images of dislocations with ray tracing simulations of expected dislocations in GaN, the Burgers vectors of the dislocations have been determined. The distribution of threading screw/mixed dislocations (TSDs/TMDs), threading edge dislocations (TEDs) and basal plane dislocations (BPDs) is discussed with implications for fabrication of power devices.

AlGaN polarization-doped field-effect transistors were characterized by DC and pulsed measurements from room temperature to 500 °C in ambient. DC current-voltage characteristics demonstrated only a 70% reduction in on-state current from 25 to 500 °C and full gate modulation, regardless of the operating temperature. Near ideal gate lag measurement was realized across the temperature range that is indicative of a high-quality substrate and sufficient surface passivation. The ability for operation at high temperature is enabled by the high Schottky barrier height from the Ni/Au gate contact, with values of 2.05 and 2.76 eV at 25 and 500 °C, respectively. The high barrier height due to the insulatorlike aluminum nitride layer leads to an ION/IOFF ratio of 1.5 × 109 and 6 × 103 at room temperature and 500 °C, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy was used to confirm the stability of the heterostructure even after an extended high-temperature operation with only minor interdiffusion of the Ni/Au Schottky contact. The use of refractory metals in all contacts will be key to ensure a stable extended high-temperature operation.

Research results for AlGaN-channel transistors are reviewed as they have progressed from low Al-content and long-channel devices to Al-rich and short-channel RF devices. Figure of merit (FOM) analysis shows encouraging comparisons relative to today’s state-of-the-art GaN devices for high Al-content and elevated temperatures. Critical electric field (EC), which fuels the AlGaN transistor FOM for high Al-composition, is not measured directly, but average gate-drain electric field at breakdown is substantially better in multiple reported AlGaN-channel devices compared to GaN. Challenges for AlGaN include the constraints arising from relatively low room temperature mobility dominated by ternary alloy scattering and the difficulty of making low-resistivity Ohmic contacts to high Al-content materials. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been made recently in the formation of low-resistivity Ohmic contacts to Al-rich AlGaN by using reverse compositional grading in the semiconductor, whereby a contact to a lower-Al alloy (or even to GaN) is made. Specific contact resistivity (ρc) approaching ρc ∼ 2 × 10−6 Ω cm2 to AlGaN devices with 70% Al-content in the channel has been reported. Along with scaling of the channel length and tailoring of the threshold voltage, this has enabled a dramatic increase in the current density, which has now reached 0.6 A/mm. Excellent ION/IOFF current ratios have been reported for Schottky-gated structures, in some cases exceeding 109. Encouraging RF performance in Al-rich transistors has been reported as well, with fT and fmax demonstrated in the tens of gigahertz range for devices with less than 150 nm gates. Al-rich transistors have also shown lesser current degradation over temperature than GaN in extreme high-temperature environments up to 500 °C, while maintaining ION/IOFF ratios of ∼106 at 500 °C. Finally, enhancement-mode devices along with initial reliability and radiation results have been reported for Al-rich AlGaN transistors. The Al-rich transistors promise to be a very broad and exciting field with much more progress expected in the coming years as this technology matures.

GaN is an attractive material for high-power electronics due to its wide bandgap and large breakdown field. Verticalgeometry devices are of interest due to their high blocking voltage and small form factor. One challenge for realizing complex vertical devices is the regrowth of low-leakage-current p-n junctions within selectively defined regions of the wafer. Presently, regrown p-n junctions exhibit higher leakage current than continuously grown p-n junctions, possibly due to impurity incorporation at the regrowth interfaces, which consist of c-plane and non-basal planes. Here, we study the interfacial impurity incorporation induced by various growth interruptions and regrowth conditions on m-plane p-n junctions on free-standing GaN substrates. The following interruption types were investigated: (1) sample in the main MOCVD chamber for 10 min, (2) sample in the MOCVD load lock for 10 min, (3) sample outside the MOCVD for 10 min, and (4) sample outside the MOCVD for one week. Regrowth after the interruptions was performed on two different samples under n-GaN and p-GaN growth conditions, respectively. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis indicated interfacial silicon spikes with concentrations ranging from 5e16 cm-3 to 2e18 cm-3 for the n-GaN growth conditions and 2e16 cm-3 to 5e18 cm-3 for the p-GaN growth conditions. Oxygen spikes with concentrations ~1e17 cm-3 were observed at the regrowth interfaces. Carbon impurity levels did not spike at the regrowth interfaces under either set of growth conditions. We have correlated the effects of these interfacial impurities with the reverse leakage current and breakdown voltage of regrown m-plane p-n junctions.

Monolayer epitaxial graphene (EG), grown on the Si face of SiC, is an advantageous material for a variety of electronic and optical applications. EG forms as a single crystal over millimeter-scale areas and consequently, the large scale single crystal can be utilized as a template for growth of other materials. In this work, we present the use of EG as a template to form millimeter-scale amorphous and hexagonal boron nitride (a-BN and h-BN) films. The a-BN is formed with pulsed laser deposition and the h-BN is grown with triethylboron (TEB) and NH3 precursors, making it the first metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process of this growth type performed on epitaxial graphene. A variety of optical and non-optical characterization methods are used to determine the optical absorption and dielectric functions of the EG, a-BN, and h-BN within the energy range of 1 eV to 8.5 eV. Furthermore, we report the first ellipsometric observation of high-energy resonant excitons in EG from the 4H polytype of SiC and an analysis on the interactions within the EG and h-BN heterostructure.

We measure the electron density dependence of carrier mobility in ultra-wide bandgap Al0.85Ga0.15N/Al0.7Ga0.3N heterostructures, using only Au/Pt Schottky contact deposition and without the need for Ohmic contacts. With this technique, we measure mobility over a two-dimensional electron gas density range from 1010 to 1013 cm-2 at an AlGaN/AlGaN heterojunction. At room temperature, subthreshold mobility was 4 cm2/Vs and peak mobility 155 cm2/Vs. Peak mobility decreased with temperature as T-0.86 suggesting alloy scattering as the dominant scattering mechanism.

The AlGaN materials system offers a tunable, ultra-wide bandgap that is exceptionally useful for high-power electronics and deep ultraviolet optoelectronics. Moseley et al. (pp. 723–726) investigate a structural defect known as an open-core threading dislocation or ''nanopipe'' that is particularly detrimental to devices that employ these materials. Furthermore, an AlGaN thin film was synthesized using metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. Electrical current leakage is detected at a discrete point using a conductive atomic-force microscope (CAFM). However, no physical feature or abnormality at this location was visible by an optical microscope. The AlGaN thin film was then etched in hot phosphoric acid, and the same location that was previously analyzed was revisited with the CAFM. The point that previously exhibited electrical current leakage had been decorated with a 1.1 μm wide hexagonal pit, which identified the site of electrical current leakage as a nanopipe and allows these defects to be easily observed by optical microscopy. Moreover, with this nanopipe identification and quantification strategy, the authors were able to correlate decreasing ultraviolet light-emitting diode optical output power with increasing nanopipe density.

High hole concentrations in AlxGa1-xN become increasingly difficult to obtain as the concentration of Al increases. It is well known in GaN and related alloys that hole concentration is directly affected by compensation and extended defects. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, we studied the amount of neutral Mg in AlxGa1-xN with x = 0 to 0.28. 0.4-0.9 μm thick Mg-doped AlxGa1-xN films were grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition and annealed at 900 °C anneal in N2. EPR measurements indicate that the amount of neutral Mg decreased by 60% in AlxGa1-xN films for x = 0.18 and 0.28 as compared to x=0.00 and 0.08. Experiments also showed that the lower neutral Mg for higher Al compositions trend did not depend on threading dislocation densities in the range of 3-20x109 cm-2, capping the surface with 5 nm of P+ GaN, or detailed annealing conditions. Additional studies show that oxygen and carbon concentrations are insufficient to account for the decrease in neutral Mg observed in the samples. Although the study cannot isolate the cause for the decrease in neutral Mg, the results clearly demonstrate that the acceptor concentration decreases with increasing Al, providing an additional limitation to achieving high hole densities. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)