The in situ metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of Al 2 O 3 dielectrics on β-Ga 2 O 3 and β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films is investigated as a function of crystal orientations and Al compositions of β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films. The interface and film qualities of Al 2 O 3 dielectrics are evaluated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging, which indicate the growth of high-quality amorphous Al 2 O 3 dielectrics with abrupt interfaces on (010), (100), and [Formula: see text] oriented β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films. The surface stoichiometries of Al 2 O 3 deposited on all orientations of β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 are found to be well maintained with a bandgap energy of 6.91 eV as evaluated by high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which is consistent with the atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 dielectrics. The evolution of band offsets at both in situ MOCVD and ex situ ALD deposited Al 2 O 3 /β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 is determined as a function of Al composition, indicating the influence of the deposition method, orientation, and Al composition of β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films on resulting band alignments. Type II band alignments are determined at the MOCVD grown Al 2 O 3 /β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 interfaces for the (010) and (100) orientations, whereas type I band alignments with relatively low conduction band offsets are observed along the [Formula: see text] orientation. The results from this study on MOCVD growth and band offsets of amorphous Al 2 O 3 deposited on differently oriented β-Ga 2 O 3 and β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films will potentially contribute to the design and fabrication of future high-performance β-Ga 2 O 3 and β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 based transistors using MOCVD in situ deposited Al 2 O 3 as a gate dielectric.
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Structural, band and electrical characterization of β-(Al 0.19 Ga 0.81 ) 2 O 3 films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Sn doped β-Ga 2 O 3 substrate
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10119913
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Physics
- Volume:
- 126
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 0021-8979
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- Article No. 095702
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Phase pure β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 thin films are grown on (001) oriented β-Ga 2 O 3 substrates via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. By systematically tuning the precursor molar flow rates, the epitaxial growth of coherently strained β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films is demonstrated with up to 25% Al compositions as evaluated by high resolution x-ray diffraction. The asymmetrical reciprocal space mapping confirms the growth of coherent β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films (x < 25%) on (001) β-Ga 2 O 3 substrates. However, the alloy inhomogeneity with local segregation of Al along the ([Formula: see text]) plane is observed from atomic resolution STEM imaging, resulting in wavy and inhomogeneous interfaces in the β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 /β-Ga 2 O 3 superlattice structure. Room temperature Raman spectra of β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films show similar characteristics peaks as the (001) β-Ga 2 O 3 substrate without obvious Raman shifts for films with different Al compositions. Atom probe tomography was used to investigate the atomic level structural chemistry with increasing Al content in the β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films. A monotonous increase in chemical heterogeneity is observed from the in-plane Al/Ga distributions, which was further confirmed via statistical frequency distribution analysis. Although the films exhibit alloy fluctuations, n-type doping demonstrates good electrical properties for films with various Al compositions. The determined valence and conduction band offsets at β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 /β-Ga 2 O 3 heterojunctions using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal the formation of type-II (staggered) band alignment.more » « less