Perturbation of charges in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures studied by nanoscale capacitance-voltage technique

Perturbation of charges at the surface and interface of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures has been studied by quantitative nanoscale capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The nanoscale C-V curves were found to have different slopes in the forward and reverse directions. These measurements indicate a change in confinement of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the AlGaN/GaN interface depending on the direction of the dc voltage sweep during C-V measurements, which can be explained by surface state charging and discharging during the bias sweep. Under UV illumination, the density of the 2DEG increased significantly as inferred from the increase in threshold voltage of the nanoscale C-V scans, and no change in 2DEG confinement, depending on the direction of the bias sweep, was observed.