Microstructure Of Au/Ti Ohmic Contacts On n-GaN

GaN is a semiconductor with a direct band-gap of 3.4 eV which has a potential application in optoelectronic devices such as UV-emitting lasers and blue light emitting diodes. Extensive efforts have been made to develop low-resistance, thermally stable and uniform ohmic contacts on GaN. In this study, n-GaN films (Si-doped) with an intermediate A1N buffer layer were grown on 6H-SiC substrates via MOVPE. The contacts were formed by depositing Ti and then Au films on GaN by e-beam evaporation at room temperature. Current-voltage measurements as a function of temperature showed that the ohmicity of the Au/Ti contact improved upon annealing, corresponding to changes in the microstructure of the contact interfaces involving a redistribution of nitrogen and gold.Fig. 1 shows the microstructure of the as-deposited Au/Ti/GaN films. The nanocrystalline Ti film was about 50 nm thick. Au film was polycrystalline, containing many growth twins. The thickness of Au film varied from 260 to 350 nm.

Plasma-Assisted MBE of GaN and AlGaN on 6H SiC(0001)

ABSTRACTThe growth of undoped and doped GaN and AlGaN films on off-axis 6H SiC substrates was investigated using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Smooth and crack-free GaN and AlGaN films were obtained; the best results occurred at the highest growth temperature studied (800°C) and with a 40 to 50 nm A1N buffer layer grown at the same temperature. Carrier concentrations of up to n = 4 × 1020 cm−3 were accomplished with silicon, with a 40 to 50% activation rate as determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Unintentionally doped AlxGa,.xN (x≈0.1) was n-type with a carrier concentration of 7 × 1018 cm−3. N-type AlGaN (x≈0.1)/p-type 6H SiC (0001) heterostructures showed excellent junction characteristics with leakage currents of less than 0.1 nA at 5 V reverse bias at room temperature and 0.5 nA at 200°C operating temperature.