A dual annealing cap composed of a thin, low temperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) deposited AlN adhesion layer and a thicker, sputtered AlN film for added mechanical strength enabled us to anneal Si-implanted layers for 30 min at temperatures up to 1250 °C. At higher temperatures the cap was destroyed by the large partial pressure of the N2 from the GaN, which exceeds the yield strength of AlN. Electrical activations as high as 70% and electron mobilities comparable to those of in situ doped films were achieved. Compared to other methods, the surfaces are better protected using this cap because it adheres better than sputtered AlN, SiO2, or Si3N4; does not crack like MOCVD grown AlN films deposited at normal temperatures (∼1100 °C); and is stronger than thin MOCVD grown AlN films deposited at low temperatures (∼600 °C). Even though N does not escape, and in so doing, forms thermal etch pits, the surface of the annealed GaN is roughened by solid state diffusion with the surface roughness increasing with the annealing temperature.
A unique metallization scheme has been developed for obtaining both Schottky and low-resistance Ohmic contacts to n-GaN. It has been demonstrated that the same metallization can be used to make both Schottky and Ohmic contacts to n-GaN using a Ni/Au bilayer composite with Ni in contact to GaN. Using this metallization, contacts with a specific contact resistivity, ρs, as low as 6.9×10−6 Ω cm2 for a doping level of 5.0×1017 cm−3 was obtained after annealing the sample for 10 s at 800 °C in a rapid thermal annealer. The presence of only (111)Au and (111)Ni peaks in the x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of as-deposited samples indicates that both metals participate to form epitaxial or highly textured layers on the basal GaN plane. When the contact layer is annealed, Au and Ni react with GaN creating interfacial phases. Both XRD and transmission electron microscopy confirm that Ni3Ga and Ni2Ga3 intermetallic phases together with Au and Ni based face-centered-cubic solid solutions, are formed during annealing. The high optical transmission achieved (in the range of 400–700 nm) through this contact after annealing suggests that it is, indeed, very useful for electro-optic device applications. The contacts also demonstrate exceptional thermal stability. Experimental data suggest that the formation of interfacial phases with a low work function is responsible for the low contact resistance of the system. The Ni–Au layer forms a robust composite enabling the contacts to have high-temperature applications. Unlike the Ni/Au Ohmic contact, the Ni/Au Schottky contact to n-GaN has a relatively large barrier height. Improved material quality and Schottky contact technology are needed to improve upon the reverse breakdown voltage.
Near-ideal Schottky barrier contacts to n-type Al0.22Ga0.78N have been developed by a two-step surface treatment technique. Plasma etching of the AlxGa1−xN surface prior to Schottky metal deposition, combined with sequential chemical treatment of the etched surface, holds promise for developing high quality low-leakage Schottky contacts for low noise applications and for recessed gate high electron mobility transistors. In this work, the effect of postetch chemical treatment of the n-type Al0.22Ga0.78N surface on the performance of the Ni∕Au based Schottky contact has been investigated. Three different types of chemical treatment: viz, reactive ion etching, reactive ion etching plus dipping in hot aqua regia, and reactive ion etching plus dipping in hot KOH, are studied. Detailed current-voltage studies of three different surface treated diodes and a comparison with as-deposited diodes reveal significant improvement in the diode characteristics. The latter surface treatment yields Ni∕Au Schottky diodes with very low reverse leakage currents, breakdown voltages greater than 44V, and an ideality factor as low as 1.14.
In this paper we report recent advances in pulsed-laser-deposited AlN thin films for high-temperature capping of SiC, passivation of SiC-based devices, and fabrication of a piezoelectric MEMS/NEMS resonator on Pt-metallized SiO 2 /Si. The AlN films grown using the reactive laser ablation technique were found to be highly stoichiometric, dense with an optical band gap of 6.2 eV, and with a surface smoothness of less than 1 nm. A low-temperature buffer-layer approach was used to reduce the lattice and thermal mismatch strains. The dependence of the quality of AlN thin films and its characteristics as a function of processing parameters are discussed. Due to high crystallinity, near-perfect stoichiometry, and high packing density, pulsed-laser-deposited AlN thin films show a tendency to withstand high temperatures up to 1600°C, and which enables it to be used as an anneal capping layer for SiC wafers for removing ion-implantation damage and dopant activation. The laser-deposited AlN thin films show conformal coverage on SiC-based devices and exhibit an electrical break-down strength of 1.66 MV/cm up to 350°C when used as an insulator in Ni/AlN/SiC metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) AlN films grown on Pt/ SiO 2 /Si (100) substrates for radio-frequency microelectrical and mechanical systems and nanoelectrical and mechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) demonstrated resonators having high Q values ranging from 8,000 to 17,000 in the frequency range of 2.5-0.45 MHz. AlN thin films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (in normal and oxygen resonance mode), atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Applications exploiting characteristics of high bandgap, high bond strength, excellent piezoelectric characteristics, extremely high chemical inertness, high electrical resistivity, high breakdown strength, and high thermal stability of the pulsed-laser-deposited thin films have been discussed in the context of emerging developments of SiC power devices, for high-temperature electronics, and for radio frequency (RF) MEMS.
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