Disorder induced semiconductor to metal transition and modifications of grain boundaries in nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin film J. Appl. Phys. 112, 073101 (2012) Control of normal and abnormal bipolar resistive switching by interface junction on In/Nb:SrTiO3 interface Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 133506 (2012) Cross-plane electronic and thermal transport properties of p-type La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/LaMnO3 perovskite oxide metal/semiconductor superlattices J. Appl. Phys. 112, 063714 (2012) Polarization Coulomb field scattering in In0.18Al0.82N/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistorsThe temperature dependence of the current-voltage characteristics of Ni-GaN Schottky barriers have been measured and analyzed. It was found that the enhanced tunneling component in the transport current of metal-GaN Schottky barrier contacts is a likely explanation for the large scatter in the measured Richardson constant.

The contact formation of Ti/Al and Ti metallization on AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFET) was investigated. It was found that ohmic contact formation is related to the low work function of the Ti contacting layer and the formation of a TiN phase at the Ti/nitride interface. Contact resistance as low as 1 Ω mm or less can be obtained on HFET samples with a nsμ product of ∼0.8×1016/V s and on n-GaN with a carrier concentration of 1.5×1018/cm3. Ti/Al bilayer contact scheme is superior to Ti-only contact due to a surface Al3Ti layer in the bilayer contact, which may reduce the oxidation problem when annealed in N2 at high temperatures. Preannealing the HFET samples at 850 °C for 1 h in N2 appears to improve the ohmic contact in general, but not always observed. Our results indicate that Ti/Al contact scheme yields sufficiently low contact resistance on HFET structures for microwave applications.

The electrical characteristics of Ni and NiSi Schottky diodes on n-GaN have been investigated as a function of annealing. Ni diodes were found to be stable up to 500 °C for 1 h in sequential annealing, with a barrier height φ (I–V) of 0.8–0.9 eV and an n factor of ∼1.1. The barrier height deduced from C–V measurements, φ (C–V), was typically 0.15 eV higher than φ (I–V). At 600 °C the diodes failed, and Ga was found to migrate into the Ni layer. NiSi diodes were stable up to 600 °C for 1 h, φ (I–V) was found to be about 0.8–1 eV with an n-factor of about 1.15. The value of φ (C–V) was between 0.3 to 0.6 eV higher than φ (I–V), consistent with the notion of the presence of a thin insulating layer at the NiSi/GaN interface. The electrical characteristics obtained in this study are also compared with those obtained for Pt and PtSi Schottky diodes on n-GaN.

Pd films deposited at room temperature have been found to grow epitaxially on GaN grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The Pd films were deposited on GaN substrates cleaned by chemicals only, and in a conventional e-beam evaporation system with a vacuum of ∼1×10−7 Torr. MeV 4He backscattering spectrometry and the Read x-ray camera were used to evaluate the Pd films. The effects of various chemical etchants—such as aqua regia, HCl:H2O, and HF:H2O—on the epitaxial quality of the Pd films have also been investigated. Ni and Pt films deposited on GaN in a similar manner were also found to be epitaxial.

The fabrication of low-loss photoelastic waveguides in GaAs/AlGaAs layered structures by thin film reactions is investigated. The waveguides are formed by opening a narrow window stripe, a few microns wide, in an otherwise continuous Ni layer under tension deposited on a semiconductor structure. The local tensile stress induced by the Ni layer in the semiconductor causes the local refractive index to increase, thus providing the guiding mechanism. Annealing the sample at 250 °C for 1 h induced an interfacial reaction between the Ni film and the substrate to form Ni3GaAs. The formation of an interfacial compound stabilizes the stresses, making the stress state independent of the deposition system and technique. Single-mode waveguide propagation losses as low as 1.4 dB/cm at 1.53 μm wavelength have been obtained on annealed waveguides. Further annealing up to 600 °C did not cause degradation in the optical confinement, thus indicating a thermally stable planar waveguide fabricated by this process. Other photoelastic optical devices such as polarizers, splitters, and couplers are also demonstrated.