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1. In situ MOCVD growth and band offsets of Al 2 O 3 dielectric on β-Ga 2 O 3 and β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 thin films

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0104433  

   Bhuiyan, A F ; Meng, Lingyu ; Huang, Hsien-Lien ; Hwang, Jinwoo ; Zhao, Hongping ( October 2022 , Journal of Applied Physics)

   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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2. Si doping in MOCVD grown (010) β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 thin films

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0084062  

   Bhuiyan, A. F. ; Feng, Zixuan ; Meng, Lingyu ; Fiedler, Andreas ; Huang, Hsien-Lien ; Neal, Adam T. ; Steinbrunner, Erich ; Mou, Shin ; Hwang, Jinwoo ; Rajan, Siddharth ; et al ( April 2022 , Journal of Applied Physics)

   In this work, the structural and electrical properties of metalorganic chemical vapor deposited Si-doped β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 thin films grown on (010) β-Ga 2 O 3 substrates are investigated as a function of Al composition. The room temperature Hall mobility of 101 cm 2 /V s and low temperature peak mobility (T = 65 K) of 1157 cm 2 /V s at carrier concentrations of 6.56 × 10 17 and 2.30 × 10 17  cm −3 are measured from 6% Al composition samples, respectively. The quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) characterization reveals a strong dependence of Si and other unintentional impurities, such as C, H, and Cl concentrations in β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 thin films, with different Al compositions. Higher Al compositions in β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 result in lower net carrier concentrations due to the reduction of Si incorporation efficiency and the increase of C and H impurity levels that act as compensating acceptors in β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films. Lowering the growth chamber pressure reduces Si concentrations in β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films due to the increase of Al compositions as evidenced by comprehensive SIMS and Hall characterizations. Due to the increase of lattice mismatch between the epifilm and substrate, higher Al compositions lead to cracking in β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films grown on β-Ga 2 O 3 substrates. The (100) cleavage plane is identified as a major cracking plane limiting the growth of high-quality Si-doped (010) β-(Al x Ga 1−x ) 2 O 3 films beyond the critical thicknesses, which leads to highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous behaviors in terms of conductivity. 

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3. Al Incorporation up to 99% in Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition‐Grown Monoclinic (Al x Ga 1–x ) 2 O 3 Films Using Trimethylgallium

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.202300224  

   Bhuiyan, A. F. M. Anhar Uddin ; Meng, Lingyu ; Huang, Hsien-Lien ; Chae, Christopher ; Hwang, Jinwoo ; Zhao, Hongping ( August 2023 , physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters)

   Growths of monoclinic (Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃thin films up to 99% Al contents are demonstrated via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using trimethylgallium (TMGa) as the Ga precursor. The utilization of TMGa, rather than triethylgallium, enables a significant improvement of the growth rates (>2.5 μm h⁻¹) of β‐(Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃thin films on (010), (100), and (01) β‐Ga₂O₃substrates. By systematically tuning the precursor molar flow rates, growth of coherently strained phase pure β‐(Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃films is demonstrated by comprehensive material characterizations via high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic‐resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging. Monoclinic (Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃films with Al contents up to 99, 29, and 16% are achieved on (100), (010), and (01) β‐Ga₂O₃substrates, respectively. Beyond 29% of Al incorporation, the (010) (Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃films exhibit β‐ to γ‐phase segregation. β‐(Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃films grown on (01) β‐Ga₂O₃show local segregation of Al along (100) plane. Record‐high Al incorporations up to 99% in monoclinic (Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃grown on (100) Ga₂O₃are confirmed from XRD, STEM, electron nanodiffraction, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. These results indicate great promises of MOCVD development of β‐(Al_xGa_1−x)₂O₃films and heterostructures with high Al content and growth rates using TMGa for next‐generation high‐power and high‐frequency electronic devices.

    

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4. Epitaxial growth of Mg x Ca 1−x O on 4H–SiC(0001) and β-Ga 2 O 3 wide band gap semiconductors with atomic layer deposition

   https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2019.376  

   Lou, Xiabing ; Gong, Xian ; Kim, Sang Bok ; Gordon, Roy G. ( April 2020 , Journal of Materials Research)

   SiC and Ga 2 O 3 are promising wide band gap semiconductors for applications in power electronics because of their high breakdown electric field and normally off operation. However, lack of a suitable dielectric material that can provide high interfacial quality remains a problem. This can potentially lead to high leakage current and conducting loss. In this work, we present a novel atomic layer deposition process to grow epitaxially Mg x Ca 1− x O dielectric layers on 4H-SiC(0001) and β-Ga 2 O 3 $\left( {\bar 201} \right)$ substrates. By tuning the composition of Mg x Ca 1− x O toward the substrate lattice constant, better interfacial epitaxy can be achieved. The interfacial and epitaxy qualities were investigated and confirmed by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. Mg 0.72 Ca 0.28 O film showed the highest epitaxy quality on 4H-SiC(0001) because of its closest lattice match with the substrate. Meanwhile, highly textured Mg 0.25 Ca 0.75 O films can be grown on β-Ga 2 O 3 $\left( {\bar 201} \right)$ with a preferred orientation of (111). 

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5. Phase Stabilized MOCVD Growth of β‐Ga 2 O 3 Using SiO x on c‐Plane Sapphire and AlN/Sapphire Template

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202300036  

   Jewel, Mohi Uddin ; Hasan, Samiul ; Crittenden, Scott R. ; Avrutin, Vitaliy ; Özgür, Ümit ; Morkoç, Hadis ; Ahmad, Iftikhar ( April 2023 , physica status solidi (a))

   The growth of monoclinic phase‐pure gallium oxide (β‐Ga₂O₃) layers by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition on c‐plane sapphire and aluminum nitride (AlN) templates using silicon‐oxygen bonding (SiO_x) as a phase stabilizer is reported. The β‐Ga₂O₃layers are grown using triethylgallium, oxygen, and silane for gallium, oxygen, and silicon precursors, respectively, at 700 °C, with and without silane flow in the process. The samples grown on sapphire with SiO_xphase stabilization show a notable change from samples without phase stabilization in the roughness and resistivity, from 16.2 to 4.2 nm and from 85.82 to 135.64 Ω cm, respectively. X‐ray diffraction reveals a pure‐monoclinic phase, and Raman spatial mapping exhibits higher tensile strain in the films in the presence of SiO_x. The β‐Ga₂O₃layers grown on an AlN template, using the same processes as for sapphire, show an excellent epitaxial relationship between β‐Ga₂O₃and AlN and have a significant change in β‐Ga₂O₃surface morphology.

    

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