The polarization difference and band offset between Al(Ga)N and GaN induce two-dimensional (2D) free carriers in Al(Ga)N/GaN heterojunctions without any chemical doping. A high-density 2D electron gas (2DEG), analogous to the recently discovered 2D hole gas in a metal-polar structure, is predicted in a N-polar pseudomorphic GaN/Al(Ga)N heterostructure on unstrained AlN. We report the observation of such 2DEGs in N-polar undoped pseudomorphic GaN/AlGaN heterostructures on single-crystal AlN substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. With a high electron density of ∼4.3 ×1013/cm2 that maintains down to cryogenic temperatures and a room temperature electron mobility of ∼450 cm2/V s, a sheet resistance as low as ∼320 Ω/◻ is achieved in a structure with an 8 nm GaN layer. These results indicate significant potential of AlN platform for future high-power RF electronics based on N-polar III-nitride high electron mobility transistors.
AlScN is attractive as a lattice-matched epitaxial barrier layer for incorporation in GaN high electron mobility transistors due to its large dielectric constant and polarization. The transport properties of polarization-induced two-dimensional (2D) electron gas of densities of ∼2×1013/cm2 formed at the AlScN–GaN interface is studied by Hall-effect measurements down to cryogenic temperatures. The 2D electron gas densities exhibit mobilities limited to ∼300 cm2/V s down to 10 K at AlScN/GaN heterojunctions. The insertion of a ∼2 nm AlN interlayer boosts the room temperature mobility by more than five times from ∼300 cm2/V s to ∼1573 cm2/V s, and the 10 K mobility by more than 20 times to ∼6980 cm2/V s at 10 K. These measurements provide guidelines to the limits of electron conductivities of these highly polar heterostructures.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1719875
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10440011
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Applied Physics Letters
- Volume:
- 121
- Issue:
- 19
- ISSN:
- 0003-6951
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) have come full-circle in the past 10 years after their demonstration in the early 1990s as the fastest room-temperature semiconductor oscillator, displaying experimental results up to 712 GHz and fmax values exceeding 1.0 THz [1]. Now the RTD is once again the preeminent electronic oscillator above 1.0 THz and is being implemented as a coherent source [2] and a self-oscillating mixer [3], amongst other applications. This paper concerns RTD electroluminescence – an effect that has been studied very little in the past 30+ years of RTD development, and not at room temperature. We present experiments and modeling of an n-type In0.53Ga0.47As/AlAs double-barrier RTD operating as a cross-gap light emitter at ~300K. The MBE-growth stack is shown in Fig. 1(a). A 15-μm-diam-mesa device was defined by standard planar processing including a top annular ohmic contact with a 5-μm-diam pinhole in the center to couple out enough of the internal emission for accurate free-space power measurements [4]. The emission spectra have the behavior displayed in Fig. 1(b), parameterized by bias voltage (VB). The long wavelength emission edge is at = 1684 nm - close to the In0.53Ga0.47As bandgap energy of Ug ≈ 0.75 eV at 300 K. The spectral peaks for VB = 2.8 and 3.0 V both occur around = 1550 nm (h = 0.75 eV), so blue-shifted relative to the peak of the “ideal”, bulk InGaAs emission spectrum shown in Fig. 1(b) [5]. These results are consistent with the model displayed in Fig. 1(c), whereby the broad emission peak is attributed to the radiative recombination between electrons accumulated on the emitter side, and holes generated on the emitter side by interband tunneling with current density Jinter. The blue-shifted main peak is attributed to the quantum-size effect on the emitter side, which creates a radiative recombination rate RN,2 comparable to the band-edge cross-gap rate RN,1. Further support for this model is provided by the shorter wavelength and weaker emission peak shown in Fig. 1(b) around = 1148 nm. Our quantum mechanical calculations attribute this to radiative recombination RR,3 in the RTD quantum well between the electron ground-state level E1,e, and the hole level E1,h. To further test the model and estimate quantum efficiencies, we conducted optical power measurements using a large-area Ge photodiode located ≈3 mm away from the RTD pinhole, and having spectral response between 800 and 1800 nm with a peak responsivity of ≈0.85 A/W at =1550 nm. Simultaneous I-V and L-V plots were obtained and are plotted in Fig. 2(a) with positive bias on the top contact (emitter on the bottom). 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From the implicit definition of IQE in terms of i and r given above, and the fact that the recombination efficiency in In0.53Ga0.47As is likely limited by Auger scattering, this result for IQE suggests that i might be significantly high. To estimate i, we have used the experimental total current of Fig. 2(a), the Kane two-band model of interband tunneling [7] computed in conjunction with a solution to Poisson’s equation across the entire structure, and a rate-equation model of Auger recombination on the emitter side [6] assuming a free-electron density of 2×1018 cm3. We focus on the high-bias regime above VB = 2.5 V of Fig. 2(a) where most of the interband tunneling should occur in the depletion region on the collector side [Jinter,2 in Fig. 1(c)]. 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Fig. 3(b) shows the tunneling probability T according to the Kane two-band model in the three materials, In0.53Ga0.47As, GaAs, and GaN, following our observation of a similar electroluminescence mechanism in GaN/AlN RTDs (due to strong polarization field of wurtzite structures) [8]. The expression is Tinter = (2/9)∙exp[(-2 ∙Ug 2 ∙me)/(2h∙P∙E)], where Ug is the bandgap energy, P is the valence-to-conduction-band momentum matrix element, and E is the electric field. Values for the highest calculated internal E fields for the InGaAs and GaN are also shown, indicating that Tinter in those structures approaches values of ~10-5. As shown, a GaAs RTD would require an internal field of ~6×105 V/cm, which is rarely realized in standard GaAs RTDs, perhaps explaining why there have been few if any reports of room-temperature electroluminescence in the GaAs devices. [1] E.R. Brown,et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 58, 2291, 1991. [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [2] M. Feiginov et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 99, 233506, 2011. [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [3] Y. Nishida et al., Nature Sci. Reports, 9, 18125, 2019. [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [4] P. Fakhimi, et al., 2019 DRC Conference Digest. [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018). [5] S. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Ed. 12.2.1 (Wiley, 1981). [6] L. Coldren, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits, (Wiley, 1995). [7] E.O. Kane, J. of Appl. Phy 32, 83 (1961). [8] T. Growden, et al., Nature Light: Science & Applications 7, 17150 (2018).more » « less
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β -Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is an extensively investigated ultrawide-bandgap semiconductor for potential applications in power electronics and radio frequency switching. The room temperature bulk electron mobility (∼200cm2V−1s−1) is comparatively low and is limited by the 30 phonon modes originating from its 10-atom primitive cell. The theoretically calculated saturation velocity in bulk is 1–2×107cms−1 (comparable to GaN) and is limited by the low field mobility. This work explores the high field electron transport (and hence the velocity saturation) in the 2DEG based on the first principles calculated parameters. A self-consistent calculation on a given heterostructure design gives the confined eigenfunctions and eigenenergies. The intrasubband and the intersubband scattering rates are calculated based on the Fermi’s golden rule considering longitudinal optical (LO) phonon–plasmon screening. The high field characteristics are extracted from the full-band Monte Carlo simulation of heterostructures at 300 K. The overall system is divided into a 2D and a 3D region mimicking the electrons in the 2DEG and the bulk, respectively. The electron transport is treated through an integrated Monte Carlo program which outputs the steady state zone population, transient dynamics, and the velocity–field curves for a few heterostructure designs. The critical field for saturation does not change significantly from bulk values, however, an improved peak velocity is calculated at a higher 2DEG density. The velocity at low 2DEG densities is impacted by the antiscreening of LO phonons which plays an important role in shaping the zone population. A comparison with the experimental measurements is also carried out and possible origins of the discrepancies with experiments is discussed.
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We report the electrical properties of Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN heterojunction field effect transistor (HFET) structures with a Ga2O3 passivation layer grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In this study, three different thicknesses of β-Ga2O3 dielectric layers were grown on Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN structures leading to metal-oxide-semiconductor-HFET or MOSHFET structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the (2¯01) orientation peaks of β-Ga2O3 in the device structure. The van der Pauw and Hall measurements yield the electron density of ~ 4 × 1018 cm−3 and mobility of ~770 cm2V−1s−1 in the 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel at room temperature. Capacitance–voltage (C-V) measurement for the on-state 2DEG density for the MOSHFET structure was found to be of the order of ~1.5 × 1013 cm−2. The thickness of the Ga2O3 layer was inversely related to the threshold voltage and the on-state capacitance. The interface charge density between the oxide and Al0.3Ga0.7N barrier layer was found to be of the order of ~1012 cm2eV−1. A significant reduction in leakage current from ~10−4 A/cm2 for HFET to ~10−6 A/cm2 for MOSHFET was observed well beyond pinch-off in the off-stage at -20 V applied gate voltage. The annealing at 900° C of the MOSHFET structures revealed that the Ga2O3 layer was thermally stable at high temperatures resulting in insignificant threshold voltage shifts for annealed samples with respect to as-deposited (unannealed) structures. Our results show that the MOCVD-gown Ga2O3 dielectric layers can be a strong candidate for stable high-power devices.more » « less
