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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Analysis of the AlGaN/GaN vertical bulk current on Si, sapphire, and free-standing GaN substrates

The vertical bulk (drain-bulk) current (I{sub db}) properties of analogous AlGaN/GaN hetero-structures molecular beam epitaxially grown on silicon, sapphire, and free-standing GaN (FS-GaN) have been evaluated in this paper. The experimental I{sub db} (25-300 Degree-Sign C) have been well reproduced with physical models based on a combination of Poole-Frenkel (trap assisted) and hopping (resistive) conduction mechanisms. The thermal activation energies (E{sub a}), the (soft or destructive) vertical breakdown voltage (V{sub B}), and the effect of inverting the drain-bulk polarity have also been comparatively investigated. GaN-on-FS-GaN appears to adhere to the resistive mechanism (E{sub a} = 0.35 eV at T = 25-300 Degree-Sign C; V{sub B} = 840 V), GaN-on-sapphire follows the trap assisted mechanism (E{sub a} = 2.5 eV at T > 265 Degree-Sign C; V{sub B} > 1100 V), and the GaN-on-Si is well reproduced with a combination of the two mechanisms (E{sub a} = 0.35 eV at T > 150 Degree-Sign C; V{sub B} = 420 V). Finally, the relationship between the vertical bulk current and the lateral AlGaN/GaN transistor leakage current is explored.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Behavior of aluminum adsorption and incorporation at GaN(0001) surface: First-principles study

First-principles calculations are performed to study the energetics and atomic structures of aluminum adsorption and incorporation at clean and Ga-bilayer GaN(0001) surfaces. We find the favorable adsorption site changes from T4 to T1 as Al coverage increased to 1 monolayer on the clean GaN(0001) surface, and a two-dimensional hexagonal structure of Al overlayer appears. It is interesting the Al atoms both prefer to concentrate in one deeper Ga layer of clean and Ga-bilayer GaN(0001) surface, respectively, while different structures could be achieved in above surfaces. For the case of clean GaN(0001) surface, corresponding to N-rich and moderately Ga-rich conditions, a highly regular superlattice structure composed of wurtzite GaN and AlN becomes favorable. For the case of Ga-bilayer GaN(0001) surface, corresponding to extremely Ga-rich conditions, the Ga bilayer is found to be sustained stable in Al incorporating process, leading to an incommensurate structure directly. Furthermore, our calculations provide an explanation for the spontaneous formation of ordered structure and incommensurate structure observed in growing AlGaN films. The calculated results are attractive for further development of growth techniques and excellent AlGaN/GaN heterostructure electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of growth temperature on defects in epitaxial GaN film grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We report the effect of growth temperature on defect states of GaN epitaxial layers grown on 3.5 μm thick GaN epi-layer on sapphire (0001) substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The GaN samples grown at three different substrate temperatures at 730, 740 and 750 °C were characterized using atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The atomic force microscopy images of these samples show the presence of small surface and large hexagonal pits on the GaN film surfaces. The surface defect density of high temperature grown sample is smaller (4.0 × 10{sup 8} cm{sup −2} at 750 °C) than that of the low temperature grown sample (1.1 × 10{sup 9} cm{sup −2} at 730 °C). A correlation between growth temperature and concentration of deep centre defect states from photoluminescence spectra is also presented. The GaN film grown at 750 °C exhibits the lowest defect concentration which confirms that the growth temperature strongly influences the surface morphology and affects the optical properties of the GaN epitaxial films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low temperature thin film transistors with hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition based GaN channels

We report GaN thin film transistors (TFT) with a thermal budget below 250 °C. GaN thin films are grown at 200 °C by hollow cathode plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (HCPA-ALD). HCPA-ALD-based GaN thin films are found to have a polycrystalline wurtzite structure with an average crystallite size of 9.3 nm. TFTs with bottom gate configuration are fabricated with HCPA-ALD grown GaN channel layers. Fabricated TFTs exhibit n-type field effect characteristics. N-channel GaN TFTs demonstrated on-to-off ratios (I{sub ON}/I{sub OFF}) of 10{sup 3} and sub-threshold swing of 3.3 V/decade. The entire TFT device fabrication process temperature is below 250 °C, which is the lowest process temperature reported for GaN based transistors, so far.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Growth and characterization of horizontal GaN wires on silicon

We report the growth of in-plane GaN wires on silicon by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Triangular-shaped GaN microwires with semi-polar sidewalls are observed to grow on top of a GaN/Si template patterned with nano-porous SiO{sub 2}. With a length-to-thickness ratio ∼200, the GaN wires are well aligned along the three equivalent 〈 112{sup ¯}0 〉 directions. Micro-Raman measurements indicate negligible stress and a low defect density inside the wires. Stacking faults were found to be the only defect type in the GaN wire by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The GaN wires exhibited high conductivity, and the resistivity was 20–30 mΩ cm, regardless of the wire thickness. With proper heterostructure and doping design, these highly aligned GaN wires are promising for photonic and electronic applications monolithically integrated on silicon.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Computational synthesis of single-layer GaN on refractory materials

The synthesis of single-layer materials relies on suitable substrates. In this paper, we identify suitable substrates for the stabilization and growth of single-layer GaN and characterize the effect of the substrate on the electronic structure of single-layer GaN. We identify two classes of epitaxial substrates, refractory metal diborides and transition-metal dichalcogenides. We find that the refractory diborides provide epitaxial stabilization for the growth and functionalization of single layer GaN. We show that chemical interactions of single layer GaN with the diboride substrates result in n-type doping of the single-layer GaN. Transition-metal dichalcogenides, on the other hand, although epitaxially matched, cannot provide sufficient thermodynamic stabilization for the growth of single layer GaN. Nonetheless, energy band alignments of GaN/metal chalcogenides show that they make good candidates for heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Non-destructive assessment of the polarity of GaN nanowire ensembles using low-energy electron diffraction and x-ray photoelectron diffraction

We investigate GaN nanowire ensembles spontaneously formed in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy by non-destructive low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). We show that GaN nanowire ensembles prepared on AlN-buffered 6H-SiC(0001{sup ¯}) substrates with well-defined N polarity exhibit similar LEED intensity-voltage curves and angular distribution of photo-emitted electrons as N-polar free-standing GaN layers. Therefore, as in the case of GaN layers, LEED and XPD are found to be suitable techniques to assess the polarity of GaN nanowire ensembles on a macroscopic scale. The analysis of GaN nanowire ensembles prepared on bare Si(111) allows us to conclude that, on this non-polar substrate, the majority of nanowires is also N-polar.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study on GaN buffer leakage current in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures grown by ammonia-molecular beam epitaxy on 100-mm Si(111)

The effect of carbon doping on the structural and electrical properties of GaN buffer layer of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures has been studied. In the undoped HEMT structures, oxygen was identified as the dominant impurity using secondary ion mass spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. In addition, a notable parallel conduction channel was identified in the GaN buffer at the interface. The AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures with carbon doped GaN buffer using a CBr{sub 4} beam equivalent pressure of 1.86 × 10{sup −7} mTorr showed a reduction in the buffer leakage current by two orders of magnitude. Carbon doped GaN buffers also exhibited a slight increase in the crystalline tilt with some pits on the growth surface. PL and Raman measurements indicated only a partial compensation of donor states with carbon acceptors. However, AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures with carbon doped GaN buffer with 200 nm thick undoped GaN near the channel exhibited good 2DEG characteristics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The possibly important role played by Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} during the activation of GaN photocathode

Three different chemical solutions are used to remove the possible contamination on GaN surface, while Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} is still found at the surface. After thermal annealing at 710 °C in the ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber and activated with Cs/O, all the GaN samples are successfully activated to the effective negative electron affinity (NEA) photocathodes. Among all samples, the GaN sample with the highest content of Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} after chemical cleaning obtains the highest quantum efficiency. By analyzing the property of Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}, the surface processing results, and electron affinity variations during Cs and Cs/O{sub 2} deposition on GaN of other groups, it is suggested that before the adsorption of Cs, Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} is not completely removed from GaN surface in our samples, which will combine with Cs and lead to a large decrease in electron affinity. Furthermore, the effective NEA is formed for GaN photocathode, along with the surface downward band bending. Based on this assumption, a new dipole model Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Cs is suggested, and the experimental effects are explained and discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Fabrication and characterization of GaN nanowire doubly clamped resonators

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires (NWs) have been intensely researched as building blocks for nanoscale electronic and photonic device applications; however, the mechanical properties of GaN nanostructures have not been explored in detail. The rigidity, thermal stability, and piezoelectric properties of GaN make it an interesting candidate for nano-electromechanical systems. We have fabricated doubly clamped GaN NW electromechanical resonators on sapphire using electron beam lithography and estimated the Young's modulus of GaN from resonance frequency measurements. For wires of triangular cross section with side ∼90 nm, we obtained values for the Young's modulus to be about 218 and 691 GPa, which are of the same order of magnitude as the values reported for bulk GaN. We also discuss the role of residual strain in the nanowire on the resonant frequency and the orientation dependence of the Young's modulus in wurtzite crystals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Localized tip enhanced Raman spectroscopic study of impurity incorporated single GaN nanowire in the sub-diffraction limit

The localized effect of impurities in single GaN nanowires in the sub-diffraction limit is reported using the study of lattice vibrational modes in the evanescent field of Au nanoparticle assisted tip enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). GaN nanowires with the O impurity and the Mg dopants were grown by the chemical vapor deposition technique in the catalyst assisted vapor-liquid-solid process. Symmetry allowed Raman modes of wurtzite GaN are observed for undoped and doped nanowires. Unusually very strong intensity of the non-zone center zone boundary mode is observed for the TERS studies of both the undoped and the Mg doped GaN single nanowires. Surface optical mode of A{sub 1} symmetry is also observed for both the undoped and the Mg doped GaN samples. A strong coupling of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons with free electrons, however, is reported only in the O rich single nanowires with the asymmetric A{sub 1}(LO) mode. Study of the local vibration mode shows the presence of Mg as dopant in the single GaN nanowires.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Contributed Review: Experimental characterization of inverse piezoelectric strain in GaN HEMTs via micro-Raman spectroscopy

Micro-Raman thermography is one of the most popular techniques for measuring local temperature rise in gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, accurate temperature measurements based on changes in the Stokes peak positions of the GaN epitaxial layers require properly accounting for the stress and/or strain induced by the inverse piezoelectric effect. It is common practice to use the pinched OFF state as the unpowered reference for temperature measurements because the vertical electric field in the GaN buffer that induces inverse piezoelectric stress/strain is relatively independent of the gate bias. Although this approach has yielded temperature measurements that agree with those derived from the Stokes/anti-Stokes ratio and thermal models, there has been significant difficulty in quantifying the mechanical state of the GaN buffer in the pinched OFF state from changes in the Raman spectra. In this paper, we review the experimental technique of micro-Raman thermography and derive expressions for the detailed dependence of the Raman peak positions on strain, stress, and electric field components in wurtzite GaN. We also use a combination of semiconductor device modeling and electro-mechanical modeling to predict the stress and strain induced by the inverse piezoelectric effect. Based on the insights gained from our electro-mechanical model and the best values of material properties in the literature, we analyze changes in the E{sub 2} high and A{sub 1} (LO) Raman peaks and demonstrate that there are major quantitative discrepancies between measured and modeled values of inverse piezoelectric stress and strain. We examine many of the hypotheses offered in the literature for these discrepancies but conclude that none of them satisfactorily resolves these discrepancies. Further research is needed to determine whether the electric field components could be affecting the phonon frequencies apart from the inverse piezoelectric effect in wurtzite GaN, which has been predicted theoretically in zinc blende gallium arsenide (GaAs).

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Propagation of THz acoustic wave packets in GaN at room temperature

We use femtosecond laser pulses to generate coherent longitudinal acoustic phonons at frequencies of 1–1.4 THz and study their propagation in GaN-based structures at room temperature. Two InGaN-GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structures separated by a 2.3 μm-thick GaN spacer are used to simultaneously generate phonon wave packets with a central frequency determined by the period of the MQW and detect them after passing through the spacer. The measurements provide lower bounds for phonon lifetimes in GaN, which are still significantly lower than those from first principles predictions. The material Q-factor at 1 THz is found to be at least as high as 900. The measurements also demonstrate a partial specular reflection from the free surface of GaN at 1.4 THz. This work shows the potential of laser-based methods for THz range phonon spectroscopy and the promise for extending the viable frequency range of GaN-based acousto-electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

The role of Mg bulk hyper-doping and delta-doping in low-resistance GaN homojunction tunnel diodes with negative differential resistance

GaN p ++ /n ++ tunnel junctions (TJs) with heavy bulk or delta Mg doping at the junction were grown via molecular beam epitaxy with a hysteresis-free and repeatable negative differential resistance (NDR). The TJ with Mg doping of 5.5 × 10 20 cm -3 shows NDR at~1.8 V and a large current density of 3.4 KA/cm 2 at -1.0 V. Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging showed no additional defects despite the doping exceeding the solubility limit in GaN allowing subsequent epitaxy of series-connected layers and devices. GaN homojunction TJs grown on bulk GaN showed an improved current density and NDR stability. In addition, the effect of Mg delta doping at the junction was investigated for the first time showing a dramatic improvement in the tunneling characteristics. A metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) grown InGaN light-emitting diode (LED) with an MBE grown GaN homojunction tunnel contact to the MOCVD grown p-GaN layer shows superior lateral conductivity and improved luminescence uniformity, but suffers an added voltage penalty, assumed to be due to interface impurities, compared to control LED with indium-tin-oxide.

Epitaxy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Baking and plasma pretreatment of sapphire surfaces as a way to facilitate the epitaxial plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of GaN thin films

The growth of high-quality epitaxial gallium nitride (GaN) thin films is achieved by using a baking and plasma pretreatment of the substrate prior to the GaN plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD). In this work, it is found that such pretreatment makes the GaN films grow coherently on sapphire substrates, following a layer-by-layer growth mechanism. The deposited GaN film shows high crystalline quality, a sharp GaN/sapphire interface, and a flat surface. The possibility of growing high-quality GaN epilayers in this way broadens the range of applications for PE-ALD in GaN-based devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigation of carbon incorporation in laser-assisted MOCVD of GaN

Background carbon (C) impurity incorporation in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) grown gallium nitride (GaN) represents one of the major issues in further improving GaN vertical power device performance. This work presents a laser-assisted MOCVD (LA-MOCVD) technique to address the high-C issue in MOCVD homoepitaxial GaN under different growth rate (Rg) regimes and studies the correlations between [C] and Rg. [C] in LA-MOCVD GaN is reduced by 50%–90% as compared to the conventional MOCVD GaN for a wide growth rate range between 1 and 16 μm/h. A mass-transport based model is developed to understand the C incorporation at different Rg regimes. The results obtained from the developed model are in good agreement with experimental data. The model further reveals that LA-MOCVD effectively suppresses C incorporation by reducing the active C species in the gas phase. Moreover, high step velocity in step flow growth mode can facilitate C incorporation at fast Rg, exhibiting steeper C increase. The theoretical model indicates that [C] can be suppressed below 1016 cm−3 with a fast growth rate (Rg) of 10 μm/h by utilizing higher power LA-MOCVD and freestanding GaN substrates with larger off-cut angles.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sputtered ferroelectric aluminum scandium boron nitride (Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N)/ n -GaN heterostructures

This work demonstrates ferroelectric switching in magnetron sputtered Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N/ n -GaN heterostructures. Using high power impulse magnetron sputtering, a silicon doped n -GaN bottom electrode with an electron concentration of 6.0 × 10 19 cm −3 is grown on c-plane sapphire. Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N films are prepared on the GaN surface with Al:B:Sc ratios that produce tensile, lattice matched, or compressive epitaxial strains. X-ray diffraction shows that lattice matched and compressively strained Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N compositions are pseudomorphic, while partial relaxation is observed for tensilely strained Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N/ n -GaN heterostructures. Electrically, the Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N/ n -GaN stacks show robust hysteresis; the P–E loops are fully saturated with both lattice matched and compressively strained Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N compositions exhibiting remanent polarization values of 135 μC/cm 2 . For comparison, Al 1−x−y B x Sc y N films are also prepared on metal organic chemical vapor deposition and single crystal GaN substrates to extend strain and morphology trends to more common substrate types. This report validates that sputter deposition is a feasible technique for fabricating strain-tunable ferroelectric III–N heterostructures with high crystalline fidelity and smooth surface morphologies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Using ground state and excited state density functional theory to decipher 3d dopant defects in GaN

Abstract Using ground state density functional theory (DFT) and implementing an occupation-constrained DFT (occ-DFT) for self-consistent excited state calculations, we decipher the electronic structure of the Mn dopant and other 3 d defects in GaN across the band gap. Our analysis, validated with broad agreement with defect levels (ground-state calculations) and photoluminescence data (excited-state calculations), mandates reinterpretation and reassignment of 3 d defect data in GaN. The Mn Ga defect is determined to span stable charge states from (1−) in n -type GaN through (2+) in p -type GaN. The Mn(2+) is predicted to be a d 2 ground state spin triplet defect with a singlet excited state, isoelectronic with the defect associated with the 1.19 eV photoluminescence in n -type GaN. The combined analysis of defect levels and excited states invites reassessment of all d 2 -capable dopants in GaN. We demonstrate that the 1.19 eV defect, a candidate defect for optically controlled quantum applications, cannot be the Cr(1+) assumed in literature and instead must be the V(0). The combined ground-state/excited-state DFT analysis is shown to be able to chemically fingerprint defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗