Au metalization schemes were deposited on AlGaN/ GaN heterostructures. The dependence of the specific contact resistance on the annealing conditions and the V:Al thickness ratio was shown. For an optimized electrode stack, a low specific contact resistance of 8.9 Â 10 À6 X cm 2 was achieved at an annealing temperature of 650 C. Compared to the conventional Ti/Al/Ni/Au contact, this is a reduction of 150 K. The microstructure and contact formation at the AlGaN/metal interface were investigated by transmission electron microscopy including high-resolution micrographs and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. It was shown that for low-resistive contacts, the resistivity of the metalization has to be taken into account. The V:Al thickness ratio has an impact on the formation of different intermetallic phases and thus is crucial for establishing ohmic contacts at reduced annealing temperatures. V
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