Publications

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Using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, a comprehensive study of BxGa1−xN 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% triethylboron (TEB) flow show more intense, narrower x-ray diffraction peaks, near-band-edge photoluminescence emission at ~362 nm, and primarily wurtzite-phase structure in the x-ray pole figures. For 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.

We discuss the engineering of p-AlGaN cladding layers for achieving efficient tunnel-injected III-Nitride ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) in the UV-A spectral range. We show that the capacitance-voltage measurements can be used to estimate the compensation and doping in the p-AlGaN layers located between the multi-quantum well region and the tunnel junction layer. By increasing the p-type doping concentration to overcome the background compensation, on-wafer external quantum efficiency and wall-plug efficiency of 3.37% and 1.62%, respectively, were achieved for the tunnel-injected UV LEDs emitting at 325 nm. We also show that interband tunneling hole injection can be used to realize UV LEDs without any acceptor doping. The work discussed here provides new understanding of hole doping and transport in AlGaN-based UV LEDs and demonstrates the excellent performance of tunnel-injected LEDs for the UV-A wavelength range.

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Ultra violet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) face critical limitations in both the injection efficiency and the light extraction efficiency due to the resistive and absorbing p-type contact layers. In this work, we investigate the design and application of polarization engineered tunnel junctions for ultra-wide bandgap AlGaN (Al mole fraction >50%) materials towards highly efficient UV LEDs. We demonstrate that polarization-induced three dimensional charge is beneficial in reducing tunneling barriers especially for high composition AlGaN tunnel junctions. The design of graded tunnel junction structures could lead to low tunneling resistance below 10-3 Ω cm2 and low voltage consumption below 1 V (at 1 kA/cm2) for high composition AlGaN tunnel junctions. Experimental demonstration of 292 nm emission was achieved through non-equilibrium hole injection into wide bandgap materials with bandgap energy larger than 4.7 eV, and detailed modeling of tunnel junctions shows that they can be engineered to have low resistance and can enable efficient emitters in the UV-C wavelength range.

Demonstration of Al0_0.3Ga_0.7N PN diodes grown with breakdown voltages in excess of 1600 V is reported. The total epilayer thickness is 9.1 μm and was grown by metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy on 1.3-mm-thick sapphire in order to achieve crack-free structures. A junction termination edge structure was employed to control the lateral electric fields. A current density of 3.5 kA/cm² was achieved under DC forward bias and a reverse leakage current <3 nA was measured for voltages <1200 V. The differential on-resistance of 16 mΩ cm² is limited by the lateral conductivity of the n-type contact layer required by the front-surface contact geometry of the device. An effective critical electric field of 5.9 MV/cm was determined from the epilayer properties and the reverse current–voltage characteristics. To our knowledge, this is the first aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN)-based PN diode exhibiting a breakdown voltage in excess of 1 kV. Finally, we note that a Baliga figure of merit (V_br²/R_spec,on) of 150 MW/cm² found is the highest reported for an AlGaN PN diode and illustrates the potential of larger-bandgap AlGaN alloys for high-voltage devices.

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The efficiency of ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is critically limited by absorption losses in p-type and metal layers. In this work, surface-roughening-based light extraction structures were combined with tunneling-based top-layer contacts to achieve highly efficient top-side light extraction in UV LEDs. By using self-assembled Ni nanoclusters as an etch mask, the top surface-roughened LEDs were found to enhance the external quantum efficiency by over 40% for UV LEDs with a peak emission wavelength of 326 nm. The method described here can be used for fabricating highly efficient UV LEDs without the need for complex manufacturing techniques such as flip chip bonding.

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 (104 - 105 cm-2) GaN substrate, and has a 15-μm-thick n-type drift layer with a free carrier concentration of 5 × 1015 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.

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The growth temperature dependence of Si doping efficiency and deep level defect formation was investigated for n-type Al_0.7Ga_0.3N. It was observed that dopant compensation was greatly reduced with reduced growth temperature. Furthermore, deep level optical spectroscopy and lighted capacitance-voltage were used to understand the role of acceptor-like deep level defects on doping efficiency. Deep level defects were observed at 2.34 eV, 3.56 eV, and 4.74 eV below the conduction band minimum. The latter two deep levels were identified as the major compensators because the reduction in their concentrations at reduced growth temperature correlated closely with the concomitant increase in free electron concentration. Possible mechanisms for the strong growth temperature dependence of deep level formation are considered, which includes thermodynamically driven compensating defect formation that can arise for a semiconductor with very large band gap energy, such as Al_0.7Ga_0.3N.

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Low p-type conductivity and high contact resistance remain a critical problem in wide band gap AlGaN-based ultraviolet light emitters due to the high acceptor ionization energy. In this work, interband tunneling is demonstrated for non-equilibrium injection of holes through the use of ultra-thin polarization-engineered layers that enhance tunneling probability by several orders of magnitude over a PN homojunction. Al0.3Ga0.7N interband tunnel junctions with a low resistance of 5.6 × 10-4 Ω cm2 were obtained and integrated on ultraviolet light emitting diodes. Tunnel injection of holes was used to realize GaN-free ultraviolet light emitters with bottom and top n-type Al0.3Ga0.7N contacts. At an emission wavelength of 327 nm, stable output power of 6 W/cm2 at a current density of 120 A/cm2 with a forward voltage of 5.9 V was achieved. This demonstration of efficient interband tunneling could enable device designs for higher efficiency ultraviolet emitters.

Electrical current leakage paths in AlGaN-based ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are identified using conductive atomic force microscopy. Open-core threading dislocations are found to conduct current through insulating Al0.7Ga0.3N layers. A defect-sensitive H3PO4 etch reveals these open-core threading dislocations as 1-2mu;m wide hexagonal etch pits visible with optical microscopy. Additionally, closed-core threading dislocations are decorated with smaller and more numerous nanometer-scale pits, which are quantifiable by atomic-force microscopy. The performances of UV-LEDs fabricated on similar Si-doped Al0.7Ga0.3N templates are found to have a strong correlation to the density of these electrically conductive open-core dislocations, while the total threading dislocation densities of the UV-LEDs remain relatively unchanged.

Current-voltage (IV) characteristics of two AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with differing densities of open-core threading dislocations (nanopipes) are analyzed. A three-diode circuit is simulated to emulate the forward-bias IV characteristics of the DUV-LEDs, but is only able to accurately model the lower leakage current, lower nanopipe density DUV-LED. It was found that current leakage through the nanopipes in these structures is rectifying, despite nanopipes being previously established as inherently n-type. Using defect-sensitive etching, the nanopipes are revealed to terminate within the p-type GaN capping layer of the DUV-LEDs. The circuit model is modified to account for another p-n junction between the n-type nanopipes and the p-type GaN, and an excellent fit to the forward-bias IV characteristics of the leaky DUV-LED is achieved.

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