Optimizing performance and yield of vertical GaN diodes using wafer scale optical techniques

To improve the manufacturing of vertical GaN devices for power electronics applications, the effects of defects in GaN substrates need to be better understood. Many non-destructive techniques including photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and optical profilometry, can be used to detect defects in the substrate and epitaxial layers. Raman spectroscopy was used to identify points of high crystal stress and non-uniform conductivity in a substrate, while optical profilometry was used to identify bumps and pits in a substrate which could cause catastrophic device failures. The effect of the defects was studied using vertical P-i-N diodes with a single zone junction termination extention (JTE) edge termination and isolation, which were formed via nitrogen implantation. Diodes were fabricated on and off of sample abnormalities to study their effects. From electrical measurements, it was discovered that the devices could consistently block voltages over 1000 V (near the theoretical value of the epitaxial layer design), and the forward bias behavior could consistently produce on-resistance below 2 mΩ cm2, which is an excellent value considering DC biasing was used and no substrate thinning was performed. It was found that high crystal stress increased the probability of device failure from 6 to 20%, while an inhomogeneous carrier concentration had little effect on reverse bias behavior, and slightly (~ 3%) increased the on-resistance (Ron). Optical profilometry was able to detect regions of high surface roughness, bumps, and pits; in which, the majority of the defects detected were benign. However a large bump in the termination region of the JTE or a deep pit can induce a low voltage catastrophic failure, and increased crystal stress detected by the Raman correlated to the optical profilometry with associated surface topography.

Локализация носителей заряда в квантовых ямах InGaN/GaN, ограниченная объемным зарядом

The mechanism of carrier tunneling through the potential walls of InGaN/GaN quantum well in the p-n structures is studied by means of the deep center tunneling spectroscopy. A number of humps on the current and photocurrent tunneling spectra, as well as on the forward bias dependences of the intensity and the peak energy of photoluminescence band from the quantum well are detected. These findings allow us to propose a model of carrier localization in the quantum well that permit to relate the tunneling transparency of the potential walls of the QW to the space-charge of deep-level centers in the quantum well barriers and its changes under optical excitation and forward biasing of p-n structure.

Деградация ультрафиолетовых светодиодов с квантовыми ямами InGaN/GaN, вызванная кратковременными воздействиями током

A comparative analysis of the initial stages of degradation of ultraviolet and blue LED structures with InGaN / GaN quantum wells is carried out. In the mode of accelerated aging, the structures were subjected to short-term, sequential exposure to currents of 80–190 mA at forward bias. The exposure time did not exceed three hours. There was an increase (up to 20%) in the external quantum efficiency. The most probable physical mechanisms explaining the changes in InGaN / GaN LEDs are presented and possible ways to slow down the aging of UV LEDs are outlined.

Efficient Film Fabrication and Characterization of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-Metalloporphine Nanocomposite and Its Application as Semiconductor Material

The use of composite films with semiconductor behavior is an alternative to enhance the efficiency of optoelectronic devices. Composite films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and metalloporphines (MPs; M = Co, Cu, Pd) have been prepared by spin-coating. The PEDOT:PSS-MP films were treated with isopropanol (IPA) vapor to modify the polymer structure from benzoid to quinoid. The quinoid structure promotes improvements in the optical and electrical behavior of films. The composite films’ morphology and structure were characterized using infrared and Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Composite films were analyzed for their optical behavior by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy: at λ < 450 nm, the films become transparent, indicating the capacity to be used as transparent electrodes in optoelectronic devices. At λ ≥ 450 nm, the absorbance in the films increased significantly. The CoP showed an 8 times larger current density compared to the CuP. A light induced change in the J-V curves was observed, and it is larger for the CoP. The conductivity values yielded between 1.23 × 102 and 1.92 × 103 Scm−1 and were higher in forward bias.

CdS/PbSe Heterojunction Made via Chemical Bath Deposition and Ionic Exchange Processes to Develop Low-Cost and Scalable Devices

Complete optoelectronic devices present major difficulties that are caused by aqueous chemical deposition. In this work, a ITO/CdS/PbSe heterostructure was developed, depositing CdS over an ITO-coated substrate via a chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The next step involved the growth of a plumbonacrite film over CdS via CBD, where the film acted as a precursor film to be converted to PbSe via ion exchange. The characterization of each material involved in the heterostructure were as follows: the CdS thin films presented a hexagonal crystalline structure and bandgap of 2.42 eV; PbSe had a cubic structure and a bandgap of 0.34 eV. I vs. V measurements allowed the observation of the electrical behavior, which showed a change from an ohmic to diode response by applying a thermal annealing at 150 °C for 5 min. The forward bias of the diode response was in the order of 0.8 V, and the current-voltage characteristics were analyzed by using the modified Shockley model, obtaining an ideality factor of 2.47, being similar to a Schottky diode. Therefore, the reported process to synthesize an ITO/CdS/PbSe heterostructure by aqueous chemical methods was successful and could be used to develop optoelectronic devices.

Temperature Dependent Current Transport Mechanism of Photopolymer Based Al/NOA60/p-Si MPS Device

A photopolymer based Al/NOA60/p-Si (metal-polymer-semiconductor) MPS device was fabricated and the current transport properties were investigated by using the forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristic in the temperature range of 80-300 K. The cross-sectional structure of polymer/semiconductor was revealed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and it was seen that the NOA60 photopolymer was tidily coated on the p-Si surface. According to the I-V measurements at room temperature, the MPS device exhibits a good rectification ratio of 8140 at ±1V. Temperature-dependent I-V measurements (I-V-T) were analyzed on the basis of thermionic emission (TE) theory and an abnormal increase in zero-bias barrier height (BH) and a decrease in ideality factor (n) was observed with increasing temperature. Additionally, two different linear regions with distinct values from the theoretical value of the Richardson constant (A*) were observed in the conventional Richardson plot. Such deviations from ideal TE theory has been attributed to the effect of BH inhomogeneities. Gaussian distribution (GD) of BH model has applied the I-V-T results and double GD BH with mean values of 0.75±0.08 eV (80 – 140 K) and 1.02±0.11 eV (140 – 300 K) were calculated. Moreover, the A* value of 64.73 A/cm2K2 was calculated close to the known value of p-Si from the modified Richardson plot. Thus, it has been concluded that the current transport of the Al/NOA60/p-Si MPS device can be explained by TE with double GD BH model for a wide temperature region.

Study of characteristics of LEDs based on InGaN/GaN quantum wells under short electric impacts accompanied by joule heating

Results are presented of a study of commercial blue and UV light-emitting diodes based on structures with InGaN/GaN quantum wells. An accelerated aging was provided by currents of 80 – 190 mA under a forward bias with duration not exceeding 3 h. The study demonstrated the possible rise in the external quantum efficiency by 20% relative to that in the starting samples. The possible physical mechanisms responsible for the rise in the quantum efficiency and for the formation of a low-frequency current noise are presented.

Far Infrared Laser Detector Based on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Blend of (Polyaniline - Polymethyl Methacrylate) Polymers with Methyl Blue Dye for Photoconductive Applications

Infrared photoconductive detectors working in the far-infrared region and room temperature were fabricated. The detectors were fabricated using three types of carbon nanotubes (CNTs); MWCNTs, COOH-MWCNTs, and short-MWCNTs. The carbon nontubes suspension is deposited by dip coating and drop–casting techniques to prepare thin films of CNTs. These films were deposited on porous silicon (PSi) substrates of n-type Si. The I-V characteristics and the figures of merit of the fabricated detectors were measured at a forward bias voltage of 3 and 5 volts as well as at dark and under illumination by IR radiation from a CO2 laser of 10.6 μm wavelengths and power of 2.2 W. The responsivity and figures of merit of the photoconductive detector are improved by coating the MWCNTs films with a thin layer of a blend (polyaniline - polymethyl methacrylate) polymer with methylene blue dye. The coated MWCNTs films showed better performances, so this type of coating can be considered as a surface treatment of the detector film, which highly increased the responsivity and specific detectivity of the fabricated IR laser detector-based MWCNTs. The photocurrent response for the coated films was increased about 25 times than that for uncoated films. The results proved the role of the polymer in the enhancement of the performance of the IR photoconductive detectors. Keywords: Carbon nanotubes, Infrared detector, Polyaniline polymer, Polymethyl methacrylate polymer, Methyl Blue dye.

Enhancement of Photoconductive Detector Based on Carbon Nanotubes Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles by Adding Conductive Polymer

In this work, wide band range photo detector operating in UV, Visible and IR was fabricated using carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, SWCNTs) decorated with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Silicon was used as a substrate to deposited CNTs/Ag NPs by the drop casting technique. Polyamide nylon polymer was used to coat CNTs/Ag NPs to enhance the photo-response of the detector. The electro-exploding wire technology was used to synthesize Ag NPs. Good dispersion of silver NPs achieved by a simple chemistry process on the surface of CNTs. The optical, structure and electrical characteristic of CNTs decorated with Ag NPs were characterized by X-Ray diffraction and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns of Ag NPs exhibited 2θ values (38.1°,44.3°) corresponding to the Ag nanocrystal, while the XRD pattern of MWCNTs and SWCNTs /Ag NPs peaks appeared at 2θ = 26.2° corresponding to the (002) and at 2theta=44° which corresponds with miller indices (100) for CNTs and (200) for Ag NPs. The optical properties measured by UV-Vis. Spectroscopy. Broad and strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak was detected at 420 nm, for Ag NPs. The absorption of CNTs/Ag NPs increased significantly from UV to near IR region (300-1000 nm). Ag NPs decorated CNTs without any impurities, according to field mission scanning electron microscopy examination, with typical particle sizes of (50-80nm) for Ag-NPs, 44nm for MWCNTs/Ag-NPs, and 30nm for SWCNTs/Ag NPs. ֹThe I-V characteristics at forward bias voltage (0.5-10) volt were studied. The figure of merits (responsivity, photocurrent gain, NEP and detectivity) after coating with polymer of the detector were measured in the dark and after illumination with UV LED (365 nm), Tungsten lamp (500-800 nm) and Laser diode (808 nm).