Gallium Nitride is of interest due to its direct bandgap, which allows for efficient emission in the near-UV range. Bulk GaN is already in use in solid-state devices that exploit its emissive properties, however, the promise of GaN nanocrystals as tunable emitters for use in light-emitting devices and lasers has led to the recent exploration of nanocrystalline GaN synthesis routes. Here we discuss the use of nonthermal plasmas for the synthesis of nanocrystalline pow-ders of GaN. The particles were examined using transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Various GaN-based device structures were grown on (0001) sapphire and 6H-SiC substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The device structures of this study include a variety of p-n junction-based devices, such as InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well green light emitting diodes, GaN p-i-n vertical rectifiers, and GaN/InGaN heterojunction bipolar transistors. This paper describes the epitaxial growth and device performance characteristics of these device structures. We have developed state-of-of-the-art growth techniques for the materials that are critical for high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. High-performance InGaN HBTs, high-voltage GaN rectifiers and long-wavelength green LEDs have been epitaxially grown, fabricated, and characterized. The details of the material growth, device fabrication, and device characterization will be presented.

We have reported on the stress effects of the SiNx passivation film on AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFETs). The AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure was grown using a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). We first investigated the dependences between SiNx films and the refractive index of these. As a result, the stress type of the SiNx films was all Tensile. Moreover, the refractive index of SiNx increased, the stress was decreasing and almost invariable over refractive index 2.1. Furthermore, we fabricated some kinds of AlGaN/GaN HFETs and estimated the gate-leakage current and the current collapse of HFET. As a result, we confirmed the relationship between the stress of passivation film and gate-leakage current, and that the low stress SiNx film with a high-refractive index can suppress both a gate-leakage current and a current collapse.

Epitaxial ScxGa1-xN films of low Sc concentration (x = 0.08 ± 0.01) were deposited on MOCVD-grown GaN films (using an Al2O3 substrate) at 800°C using molecular beam epitaxy employing ammonia as a reactive nitrogen source (NH3-MBE). The strain-free lattice parameters of the films were determined using a method based on high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) in conjunction with an in-situ elastic tester. It is found that the c:a lattice parameter ratio increases slightly and that the Poisson’s ratio decreases with increasing Sc concentration. The crystalline quality and long-range ordering of the ScxGa1-xN films (as indicated by HRXRD peak intensities and full width at half maximum values) is improved considerably relative to the GaN template. Our results indicate that threading dislocations do not propagate effectively into the ScxGa1-xN films and that these may therefore potentially find application as dislocation blocking layers in GaN-based optoelectronic devices.

The polarity control of GaN films grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by LP-MOVPE using N2 as carrier and diluent gas was investigated in detail. The polarity type depended on the substrate preparation prior to the high temperature (HT) GaN growth. Device-quality Ga-polar GaN was obtained by using a low temperature (LT) AlN buffer layer followed by a specific annealing process. Optimized buffer layer thickness was 10 nm, with an annealing time of 20 min and a temperature of 1050 °C. By using these conditions for the buffer layer growth, mirror-like Ga-polarity GaN was grown using a V/III ratio of 100. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of Ga-polar GaN films was 360 arcsec for the symmetric (00.2) reflection and 640 arcsec for the skew-symmetric (30.2) reflection. The surface roughness was measured by AFM to be 0.2 nm RMS and the growth rate was estimated at 2.0 μm/hr. These results indicated that by exclusively using N2 carrier gas, one can achieve films of the same quality as those more commonly grown by using H2 carrier gas.

We have grown a variety of isolated GaN nanowires using gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and characterized their structural and optical properties. The nanowires have demonstrated a number of promising materials characteristics, including low defect density and high luminescent intensity. Well-separated nanowires formed spontaneously on Si(111) substrates after deposition of a thin AlN buffer layer. Metal catalysts were not used. X-ray diffraction indicates that the c and a lattice parameters are within 0.01 % of the lattice parameters of bulk GaN. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the nanowires to be free of dislocations and stacking faults, although a GaN matrix layer growing at the base of the wires was found to have a high density of basal plane stacking faults. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) intensity compared favorably with a free-standing, thick film of high quality GaN. Several features of the low temperature PL spectra also indicated that the nanowires had few structural defects or chemical impurities. Finally, electrical characterization of dispersed nanowires demonstrated that efficient electrical contacts could be made and that the resistivity of the nanowires was comparable to that of bulk material.

We report on a temperature study of flip-chip mounted multi-finger AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) using micro-Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) thermography. Flip-chip mounting can be used to improve thermal device management, in particular, for devices grown on low thermal conductivity substrates such as sapphire. In this study, we compare two flip-chip mounted HFETs of different flip-chip contact bump layout designs and a non flip-chip mounted HFET. Both temperature measurements and 3D temperature simulations are presented. The results show that minimizing the distance between the bumps and the active area of the HFET is essential for obtaining a low device operating temperature.

HVPE grown layers typically show a high density of pyramidal structures on the surface. We found that a slight off-orientation of the substrate totally suppresses the development of these structures. Further we found that a misorientation toward the m-plane of GaN features a smoother surface morphology, compared to an off-orientation towards the a-plane. After the improvement of the surface morphology and other properties of the HVPE grown layers, we studied self-separation processes. Our approaches to remove the thick GaN-layer from the substrate were a low-temperature interlayer and a structured dielectric mask.

The developments of two major components of a three terminal dual wavelength LED for excitation of multiple phosphors are described. Such a configuration will be novel Broadband Spectrally Dynamic Light Emitting Diode (BSDLED). First, work towards a functional tunnel junction in the GaN system is discussed. The developments of p+ and n+ GaN layers are specifically discussed in relation to their use in a buried current spreading contact layer. Second, the analysis of several phosphors and their application in a spectrally dynamic source is explored. The response to multiple wavelengths of the phosphors is analyzed to create a light source that can be tuned in “real time” to a wide range of correlated color temperatures.

A novel metallization scheme for Ohmic contact (Ti/Al/ W2B /Ti/Au) to n-GaN using high temperature boride was studied using contact resistance, scanning electron microscopy and Auger Electron Spectroscopy measurements. A minimum contact resistance of 7×10-6 Ω.cm2 was achieved for W2B based scheme at an annealing temperature of 800 °C. Contact resistances were found to be essentially independent of measurement temperature, indicating that tunneling plays a dominant role in the current transport. The outdiffusion of Ti to the surface at temperatures of ∼500°C, and at 800°C the onset of intermixing of Al within the contact was found to occur. By 1000°C, the contact showed a reacted appearance and AES showed almost complete intermixing of the metallization. The reliability measurements for the contact resistance of W2B based contact showed excellent stability for extended periods at 200°C, which simulates the type of device operating temperature that might be expected for operation of GaN-based power electronic devices.

This paper contains results on InN growth by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) on various substrates including sapphire, GaN/sapphire, AlGaN/sapphire, and AlN/sapphire templates. The growth processes were carried out at atmospheric pressure in a hot wall reactor in the temperature range from 500 to 650°C. Arrays of nano-crystalline InN rods with various shapes were grown directly on sapphire substrates. Continuous InN layers were grown on GaN/sapphire, AlN/sapphire and AlGaN/sapphire template substrates. X-ray diffraction rocking curves for the (00.2) InN reflection exhibit the full width at half maximum (FWHM) as narrow as 0.075 deg. for the nano-rods and 0.128 deg. for the continuous layers grown on GaN/sapphire templates.

A-plane GaN grown on r-plane sapphire is a promising material for optoelectronic applications such as laser diodes and LEDs. The absence of a built-in electrostatic field in the nonpolar a-plane GaN-based quantum wells can limit the piezoelectric polarization effect and result in higher emission efficiency. The knowledge of the planar anisotropic nature of nonpolar a-plane GaN is important to understand the growth mechanism of a-plane GaN is fundamental for optoelectronic device design. Two a-plane GaN samples were grown on r-plane sapphire, one being grown on intentionally miscut 4 degrees from r-plane sapphire. The films exhibited different surface morphologies and were characterized using imaging cathodoluminescence and SEM. The ordinary and extraordinary indices of a-plane GaN thin film were obtained using a prism-coupling technique. It was found that one sample the c-axis lay in the plane of the thin film as expected, and in the sample grown on miscut sapphire the c-axis was out of the plane of the film.

The temperature dependence of Hall mobility, µ, and carrier density, Ne, for thin InN films grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Plasma Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy have been investigated. For temperature up to 300 K, a large temperature-independent Ne is observed in films grown by the above two techniques. However, for higher temperatures, carrier density (Ne) increases with temperature. The characteristic behavior of the mobility for the films with low carrier density is different from that of the high carrier density film, particularly at low temperatures. The low carrier density film shows a peak ∼250 K in mobility as a function of temperature which is contrast to the temperature independent mobility observed for the high density film for T < 300 K. We have investigated theoretically the effect of concentration of donor, acceptor, and threading dislocations on the carrier mobility in these films. Various electron-scattering mechanisms for the mobility in these films have been discussed.

Native aluminum nitride (AlN) single crystal substrates are promising for use in epitaxial growth of III-nitride materials for fabrication of reliable deep UV light emitting and high power RF devices. Furthermore, the single crystals can be cut into different orientations, such as non-polar or pre-determined and specific misorientations, which will open a door for growing device structures with specially desired properties.

We have found several novel patterns on different orientation AlN substrates using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Aluminum nitride substrates with chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP) finished surfaces, for a number of different misorientations with respect to the main hexagonal axis, that is, c-, a- and b-axis, show well differentiated structures. The AFM images reveal atomic level closed-loop rings. We believe these closed-loop rings are indicative of edge-dislocations. These structures are mostly seen on the near and on-axis aluminum polar surfaces. Atomic steps are not visible on the non-polar bare surfaces and for larger deviations from the polar axis (i.e., larger than 6 degrees from the c-axis). It is also noticed that even though atomic level steps are not always visible on the bare substrate for non-polar and large misorientations from the polar aluminum face, they can be observed after homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial growth on these orientations. The research results indicate that both substrate orientation and surface treatment play an important role in forming different kinds of surface morphologies.

Comparative studies have been carried out on the cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL) properties of GaN implanted with Tm and GaN co-implanted with Tm and a low concentration of Er. Room temperature CL spectra were acquired in an electron probe microanalyser to investigate the rare earth emission. The room temperature CL intensity exhibits a strong dependence on the annealing temperature of the implanted samples. The results of CL temperature dependence are reported for blue emission (∼ 477 nm) which is due to intra 4f-shell electron transitions (1G4 → 3H6) associated with Tm3+ ions. The 477 nm blue CL emission is enhanced strongly as the annealing temperature increases up to 1200°C. Blue PL emission has also been observed from the sample annealed at 1200°C. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of blue PL emission from Tm implanted GaN samples. Intra-4f transitions from the 1D2 level (∼ 465 nm emission lines) of Tm3+ ions in GaN have been observed in GaN:Tm films at temperatures between 20–200 K. We will discuss the temperature dependent Tm3+ emission in both GaN:Tm,Er and GaN:Tm samples.

We studied photoluminescence (PL) from a set of GaN layers grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with the concentration of carbon varied by the growth conditions. One of the remarkable features in these samples is the extremely low intensity of the shallow donor-acceptor pair band. Analysis of the PL data gives the shallow acceptor concentration of less than 1014 cm-3 in most of the C-doped GaN layers. This result shows that C does not form a shallow acceptor, CN, in appreciable concentrations in wurtzite GaN. As for the YL band, there is no clear correlation between its intensity and the degree of C-doping. The question of identification of the deep acceptor responsible for the YL band in undoped and C-doped GaN still remains to be solved.

Thin films of ZnO were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in a vertical injection rotating disk reactor (RDR) system on sapphire substrates. Kinetics of ZnO growth by MOCVD were studied and an optimal growth window for a RDR tool was determined. Experimental growth conditions were chosen based on calculations of Reynolds Number (Re) and mixed convection parameter in order to select a growth window with stable gas flow and uniform heat transfer. Growth parameters were systemically varied within this window to determine the optimal growth conditions for this MOCVD tool and to study how these parameters affect film growth and quality. Properties of ZnNiO films grown by MOCVD were also studied to determine the effects of Ni incorporation on structural, optical, and magnetic properties.

Two-dimensional electro-thermal simulations of GaN-based metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor are performed in the framework of the drift-diffusion model. The dependence of the hot spot temperature in transistors with many gates on the gate-to-gate pitch is studied. The case of SiC substrate is compared to the case of sapphire substrate. The ambient temperature effect on transistor performance is simulated. The specific of a thermal breakdown in GaN-based devices is discussed. The results obtained can be useful for the optimization of the thermal design for field-effect transistors.

Cubic GaN is successfully grown on β-Ga2O3 by molecular beam epitaxy for the first time. Prior nitridation of the (100) β-Ga2O3 single-crystal substrate by exposure to electron cyclotron resonance nitrogen plasma causes the formation of a surficial (001) c-GaN layer, upon which homo-epitaxial growth of c-GaN can be achieved by radio-frequency molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial relationship is confirmed by electron microscopy to be (001) c-GaN // (100) β-Ga2O3, [110] c-GaN // [010] β-Ga2O3, and [1-10] c-GaN // [001] β-Ga2O3.

Much of the work on III-Nitride-based LEDs that has been published and applied commercially has been done using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) as a method of film growth. We report on the growth and fabrication of visible light emitting diodes, by combining hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) and rf plasma-assisted MBE (PAMBE) methods. Thick (∼7 μm to 10 μm) HVPE n+-GaN smooth and textured templates, were used as substrates for the growth of LED structures by rf-PAMBE. The active regions of the LED structures, which consist of InGaN/GaN MQWs, were grown using the pulsed nitrogen plasma technique leading to abrupt well and barrier interfaces as confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Using this method, we obtained InGaN/GaN MQWs whose room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra have a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 12 nm (105 meV). Visible LEDs on smooth GaN templates emitting in the blue to green were produced with EL spectrum FWHM as narrow as 27 nm. On the other hand, white LEDs without the use of phosphor have been produced utilizing textured MQWs as the active region, a phenomenon we initially attribute to different incorporation of In on the different QW-planes. The growth and fabrication of these devices was preceded by detailed growth and doping studies of the various layers of the LED structure. These include detailed nucleation studies on (0001) sapphire substrates as well as identification of kinetic factors which lead to good crystalline-quality InGaN alloys and InGaN/GaN MQWs.