The progress in the fabrication of high voltage GaN and AlGaN rectifiers, GaN/AlGaN HBT and GaN MOSFET is reviewed. Improvements in epitaxial layer quality are studied. The advances in fabrication techniques that led to the improvement of device performance are discussed.
Optically pumped near ultraviolet vertical cavity laser operation (VCSEL) has been obtained under quasi-continuous wave conditions at room temperature near 383 nm from shallow InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). Low loss optical resonators were fabricated by using in-situ grown (Al,Ga)N distributed Bragg reflectors that featured strain engineering design for high optical morphology, in combination with low-loss dielectric multilayer mirrors.
We demonstrate that the insertion of low-temperature (LT) AlGaN interlayers is effective in reducing mismatch-induced tensile stress and suppressing the formation of cracks during growth of AlGaN directly upon GaN epilayers., Stress evolution and relaxation is monitored using an in-situ optical stress sensor. The combination of in-situ and ex-situ. characterization techniques enables us to determine the degree of pseudomorphism in the interlayers. It is observed that the elastic tensile mismatch between AlGaN and GaN is mediated by the relaxation of interlayers; the use of interlayers offers tunability in the in-plane lattice parameters.
The density of threading dislocations (TD) in GaN grown directly on flat sapphire substrates is typically greater than 10{sup 9}/cm{sup 2}. Such high dislocation densities degrade both the electronic and photonic properties of the material. The density of dislocations can be decreased by orders of magnitude using cantilever epitaxy (CE), which employs prepatterned sapphire substrates to provide reduced-dimension mesa regions for nucleation and etched trenches between them for suspended lateral growth of GaN or AlGaN. The substrate is prepatterned with narrow lines and etched to a depth that permits coalescence of laterally growing III-N nucleated on the mesa surfaces before vertical growth fills the etched trench. Low dislocation densities typical of epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) are obtained in the cantilever regions and the TD density is also reduced up to 1 micrometer from the edge of the support regions.
A brief review is given of recent progress in fabrication of high voltage GaN and AlGaN rectifiers, GaN/AlGaN heterojunction bipolar transistors, GaN heterostructure and metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors. Improvements in epitaxial layer quality and in fabrication techniques have led to significant advances in device performance.
The diffusion, uptake, and release of H in p-type GaN are modeled employing state energies from density-function theory and compared with measurements of deuterium uptake and release using nuclear-reaction analysis. Good semiquantitative agreement is found when account is taken of a surface permeation barrier.
Formation energies and vibrational frequencies for H in wurtzite GaN were calculated from density functional theory and used to predict equilibrium state occupancies and solid solubilities for p-type, intrinsic, and n-type material. The solubility of deuterium (D) was measured at 600--800 C as a function of D{sub 2} pressure and doping and compared with theory. Agreement was obtained by reducing the H formation energies 0.2 eV from ab-initio theoretical values. The predicted stretch-mode frequency for H bound to the Mg acceptor lies 5% above an observed infrared absorption attributed to this complex. It is concluded that currently recognized H states and physical processes account for the equilibrium behavior of H examined in this work.
We report the growth and characterization of quaternary AlGaInN. A combination of photoluminescence (PL), high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) characterizations enables us to explore the contours of constant PL peak energy and lattice parameter as functions of the quaternary compositions. The observation of room temperature PL emission at 351nm (with 20% Al and 5% In) renders initial evidence that the quaternary could be used to provide confinement for GaInN (and possibly GaN). AlGaInN/GrdnN MQW heterostructures have been grown; both XRD and PL measurements suggest the possibility of incorporating this quaternary into optoelectronic devices.
In this paper, we overview several of the critical materials growth, design and performance issues for nitride-based UV (<400 nm) LEDs. The critical issue of optical efficiency is presented through temperature-dependent photoluminescence studies of various UV active regions. These studies demonstrate enhanced optical efficiencies for active regions with In-containing alloys (InGaN, AlInGaN). We discuss the trade-off between the challenging growth of high Al containing alloys (AlGaN, AlGaInN), and the need for sufficient carrier confinement in UV heterostructures. Carrier leakage for various composition AlGaN barriers is examined through a calculation of the total unconfined carrier density in the quantum well system. We compare the performance of two distinct UV LED structures: GaN/AlGaN quantum well LEDs for λ<360 nm emission, and InGaN/AlGaInN quantum well LEDs for 370 nm<λ<390 nm emission.
The LDRD entitled ``Role of Defects in III-Nitride Based Devices'' is aimed to place Sandia National Laboratory at the forefront of the field of GaN materials and devices by establishing a scientific foundation in areas such as material growth, defect characterization/modeling, and processing (metalization and etching) chemistry. In this SAND report the authors summarize their studies such as (1) the MOCVD growth and doping of GaN and AlGaN, (2) the characterization and modeling of hydrogen in GaN, including its bonding, diffusion, and activation behaviors, (3) the calculation of energetic of various defects including planar stacking faults, threading dislocations, and point defects in GaN, and (4) dry etching (plasma etching) of GaN (n- and p-types) and AlGaN. The result of the first AlGaN/GaN heterojunction bipolar transistor is also presented.